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NV?^'|^^L^!w^^?;il5''?^;^;':r:;i^ipi^ 


THE   UNIVERSITY 

OF   ILLINOIS 

LIBRARY 


The  person  charging  this  material  is  re- 
sponsible for  its  retufn  on  or  before  the 
Latest  Date  stamped  below. 

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The  Four  Winds  of  Eirinn 

The   Poem-B  of   ETHNA  CARBERY.     Pwt  free,   $1.10. 


This  1b  one  of  the  most  beautiful  books  of  poetry/ that  has 
come  out  of  Irelaud  since  Mangan'b  day.  ^ 

In  its  many  thousands  of  copies  it  has  gone  to  the  hearths 
('f  The  humblest  cabins  in  the  land,  and  warmed  shiTerlng 
heai'ts  there.  And  it  has  gone  to  every  coruer  of  the  globe. 
spilling   on    its   course   the   fragrance   of    Ireland. 

So  deep  and  strong  has  been  its  appeal,  that  It  has  sold 
more  copies,  propably.  than  all  other  books  of  Irish  poetry 
published   in   Ireland   during  a   generation. 

Fiona  MacLeod,  in  The  Winsrs  of  Destiny  says:  One  copy 
of  such  a  book  as  "The  Four  Winds  of  Eirinn"  Is  enough  te 
light  many  unseen  fires.  ...  In  essential  poetic  faculty 
Ethna  Carbery  falls  behind  none  save  Mr  Yeats  and  "A.  R."— 
but  I,  doubt  if  any  of  these  has  more  intimately  reached  the 
hearts  of  the  people.  Than  Mr.  Yeats,  Ethna  Carbery.  while 
not  less  saturated  with  l^e  Gaelic  atmosphere,  possesses  a 
simplicity  ©f  thought  and  ^diction  foreign  to  the  moat  subtle 
of  contemporary  poets. 

Joaquin  Miller:  This  book  has  given  me  the  most  delightful 
memories  of  my  life.  The  music  lives  and  lingers  as  some 
far,  faint  song  of  the  minstrels  of  old  time  that  I  may  never 
hear  again ;  as  perfume  and  memory  blending  in  one ;  and 
Indescribable. 

Joyce  Kilmer  (of  the  New  York  Times  Literary  Review) 
says:  I  consider  Ethna  Carbery  one  of  the  few  great  poets 
of  the   last  hundred   years. 

The  Leader  (San  Francisco).  Many  weary  days  shall  pass 
and  years  will  be  counted  by  the  scorg.  before  the  touch  of 
Ethna  Carbery's  genius,  the  wail  of  her  song,  and  the  music 
of  her  lyre,   will  be  forgotten. 

The  Daily  News  (London) :  In  this  Ijook  we  move  from 
wonder  to  wonder.  It  Is  natural  magic  In  the  truest  sense 
of  the  word.  No  less  a-emarkable  than  the  prodigality  of 
fancy,  is  the  richness  and  variety  of  melody  which  animate 
Its  sounds.  The  music  ig  everywhere  true,  and  as  full  as  it 
Is  new.  One  marvels  at  the  spontaneousness  of  every  thought 
and  every  word.  With  as  little  effort,  or  premeditation,  as 
the  birds  in  the  Land  of  Perpetual  Youth  sangj  his  gifted 
child  of  Irish  song. 

The  Globe  (New  York)  :  Ethna  Carbery  surpasses  all  other 
poets  of  the  Celtl'c  school  in  the  heart-uality  of  her  verse. 
.  .  .  Hers  is  a  pure  white  passion  tfor  beauty,  such  as  is 
revealed   by  the  few   great   poets   of  the    world. 

Aberdeen  Free  Press:  This  is  one  of  the  most  striking  pro- 
ductions  of   the    Irish    Literary    Renaissanre. 


The  United  Irishman:  She  was  herself  a  poem  iheamate; 
tender  and  sweet,  aud  true  and  pure,  gracloui  and  refined,  aa 
one  of  her  Irish  piincesses,  and  kindly  as  one  of  her  peasants. 
God  gave  her  grand,  rare  gifts,  and  she  dedicated  them  to  a 
high,  hol.7  cause.  Her  life  was  «I1  too  short,  bat  her  works 
will   lire  ufter  her  for  all  tima 


Prose  Works  of  Ethna  Carbery 


1.  In   the   Celtic    Past.     Hero   Tales.     Post   free,   $1.10. 

2.  The  Passionate  Hearts.  Love  stories.  With  cover  design 
in   three   colours,    by   "AE."     Post  free,   $1.10. 

The  Independent  (Dublin) :  Seldom,  if  ever,  has  the  most 
potent  of  pas&ious  which  stir  the  souls  and  sway  the  destinies 
of  mankind  been  painted  with  more  beauty  and  power. 

Cork  Sun:  Prose  poems,  combining  the  melody  of  the  lyre. 
the  dignity  of  the  epic,  and  the  Tivid  movement  of  the  drama. 

To-Day:  These  stories  throb  with  an  ardent,  passionate 
love.  They  are  beautiful.  I  cannot  write  any  better  of  them. 
Kthna  Carbery  gives  a  real  insight  into  the  chai-acter  and 
nature  of  a  people  that  we  shall  never  rule  and  never  under- 
stand. Here,  Indeed,  is  a  book  written  by  a  poet  and  an 
artist   with  a  great   love   in   her  heart. 

United  Irishman:  Within  the  pages  of  the  "Passionate 
Hearts"  he  who  seeks  will  find  the  spirit  of  Ireland  longing 
and  satisfied ;  the  spirit  of  all  humanity,  wet-eyed  and  weary, 
toiling  on  its  upward  way,  but,  above  all,  writ  large,  he  will 
rind    the  glowing   heart  of   woman. 

Glasgow  Herald:  They  come  with  a  sense  of  revelation. 
.    .    .    They    are   full    of    passion   and   Joy   and    sadness. 

New  York  Times:  They  are  full  of  the  beautiful  pathos  of 
Irish  poetry,  the  magic  of  Irish  music,  and  the  elusive  charm 
of  Irish  folk-lore,  and  convey  tho  atmosphere  of 'sincerity 
which  only  flows  from  a  pen  dipped  in  the  author's  own 
heart. 

From   THE    IRISH    PUBLISHING    CO. 
Box   1313   New   York   City 


Yourself  and  the  Neighbors 

SEUMAS'    MacMANUS'    LATEST    BOOK-NINTH    EDITION. 

Illustrated  by  Thoma&  Fogarty. 


"Once  in  a  great  many  years  there  is  published  a  book 
that  stands  out  60  pre-eminently  above  the  general  run  of 
books  that  it  deserves  to  be  classed  among  the  mastei-pieces 
of  a  country's  literature.  Such  a  book  is  Seumas  MacMaoub' 
'Yourself    and    the    Neighbors.'  ''—The    Baltimore    Sun. 

"If  Seumas  MacManus  is  not  taken  to  our  bosom  and  cher- 
ished as  a  classic,  then  all  signs  by  which  we  estimate  genius 
iSiiV'—The  Los   Angeles   Times. 

'•Here  he  puts  the  soul  of  his  race  into  language  exquisite.''— 
Ne%o    York   Times. 

Georffe  W.  Gable  says:  I  may  have  read  as  good  English- 
not  often,  however.  Assuredly  Seumas  MacManus's  is  a  mas- 
ter pen  ,and  a  joy  to  me  which  I  mean  to  make  permanent. 

James  Whitcomb  Riley:  I  read  it  with  avidity — as  I  read 
every    line  of   Seumas    MacManus. 

Archibishop  Prendergast:  Now  that  I  have  read  it  every 
word  and  many  parts  more  than  once.  I  wish  to  say  that  it 
is  the  most  delightful  book  of  its  kind  I  ever  read.  It  should 
be  in  the  home  of  every  one  of  our  race  the  world  over. 

David  Belasco:  I  wonder  if  Seumas  MacManus  realizes  how 
tine  this  work  is.  It  Is  so  charming,  fresh,  and  quaintly 
humorous,  and  at  the  same  time  so  pathetically  tender,  that 
I   smiled   and   laughed  and  gulped   "all    in  one   breath." 

Mark  Sullivan^  Editor  of  Colliers:  I  have  read  it  with  the 
iutensest  Interest,  line  by  line,  and  am  ordering  the  rest  of 
Seumas  MacManus'    books. 

Wm.  Marion  Reedy  (in  the  Mirror) :  It  is  the  best,  the  very 
best  projection  of  Irish  life  that  I  can  recall— better  than 
Lover,  or  Lever,  or  Banim,  or  Gerald  Griffin— and  worth  a 
wilderness  of   the   works  of  George   Moore. 

President  of  Notre  Dame  University^  Rev.  John  Cavanagh: 
1  believe  it  is  the  noblest  and  most  beautiful  t)ook  ever  writ- 
ten about  Ireland. 

Judge  Ben  B.  Lindsey:  It  grips.  It  brings  laughter  and 
tears  by  turns.  It  is  a  great  story  by  one  of  the  greatest 
story- tellers    in   the   world. 

Archbishop  Ireland:  It  is  a  wonderfully  beautiful  book,  both 
in  sentiment  and  diction. 

Edwin  Markham:  I  am  struck  by  the  freshness,  beauty, 
poesy,  of  this,  the  best  work  Seumas  MacManus  has  ever 
done. 

Ez-Govemor  John  K.  Tener^  of  Pennsylvania:  Already  I 
have  nearly  finished  this  delightful— yea.  dellciou»-book. 
When  I  got  into  the  swing  of  it,  I  sang  rather  than  read  the 
P«««a. 


Bath  McEoery  Stuart:  This  book  is  a  delisht— and  for  m 
many  qualities  tbat  I  find  them  iilmost  lost  in  the  word 
"charm.  Many  times  in  my  reading  I  found  my  eyes  flUing 
with  tears— of  keen  delight  and  sympathy— <ajid  pride  too. 
This  work  is  the  real  thing,  and  as  vital  as  Seumas  MacManua' 
first  touch,  which  made  the  world  look  his  way. 

President  Chase^  Bates  College:  This  intensely  interesting 
book  helped  me  to  understand,  to  appreciate,  to  love,  and  to 
admire  the  Irish  people  to  a  degree  that  has  enriched  my  own 
uilnd,  And   made   more  tender  my  own  heart. 

Chief  Justice  of  Canada,  Sir  Charles  Fitzpatrick:  I  thank 
Seumas  MacManus  for  giving  me  here  the  key  to  ell  the 
charm    of   the    Irish    people. 

Chancellor  McCormick,  University  of  Pittsijursrh :  I  wonder 
whether  Seunms  MacManus  himself  realizes  what  a  fine  piece 
of  work  he  has  here  done.  I  dai-e  anyone  to  spend  an  hour 
reading  this  book  and  not  rise  from  it  a  kinder,  gentler,  finer 
soul.  The  world,  when  it  comes  to  know  the  book,  will  thank 
Seumas   MacManus  for   it   as    I    thank    him. 

Price    (Including  postage)    $L66. 
THE    IRISH    PUBLISHING   CO  .; 

Box  1313,  New  York  City 


A  Lad  of  the  O'Friels 

By    SEUMAS    MacMANUS. 

Fiana    MacLeod    says:      An    admirable    piece    of    work,    true    to 

life,    true    in    sentiment,    true    in    touch,    with    vivid    actuality 

and    the   breath   of   romance,    and  a   very   real   and   appealing 

winsome  charm.    ...    It  gave  me  sincere  and  deep  pleasure 

<to  read   this  delightful   book. 

New  Ireland  Review:  The  poetry  of  Irish  homely  life  has 
never  been  more  faithfully  and  more  touchingly  portrayed 
than   in   this  book.     It  Is  a  powerful  {piece  of  work. 

Boston  Transcript:  This  book  is  a  landmark,  showing  the 
height  of  excellence  to  which  the  flood  of  fiction  may  rise. 

Punch:     A  charming  book  sure  of  lasting  fame  and  popularity. 

To-Day:     It   grips   and   enthrals   the   reader. 

Dondee  Courier :  A  more  delightful  book  than  "A  Lad  of 
the  O'Friels''  has  not  left  the  press  for  a  long  time. 

Pall  Mall  Gazette:  A  literary  achievement  of  great  distinc- 
tion. 

Irish  Independent:  Of  all  novels  of  Irish  life,  "A  Lad  of 
the  O'Friels"   sings   truest. 

Price  (including  postage)   |L65. 

THB   IRISH   PUBLISHINQ   CO 
Box  ISU,  N«w  York  City 


IRELAND'S  Case 


SEUMAS    MacMANUS 


SECOND    EDITION 


1918 
New  York 

The  Irish  Publishing  Co. 
P.  O.  Box  1313 


C»pright,   1917. 
By  S«amaB  MacManns 


To  JOHN  DEVOY 

Because  you  bestowed  yourself  on  a  forlorn  canse^ 
without  seeking  reward  or  honor — and  without  getting 
2J       them : 

Because,  when  the  night  was  blackest,  and  the  way 
-'  was  loneliest,  with  few  workers  to  cheer,  bnt  alas  I  many 
:^       lurkers  to  sneer,  you,  unheeding^  toOcd  f aithfiilly  on : 

1^3  Because  though  the  faint-hearted  failed  you,  saying 

the  Day  could  never  dawn,  and  the  false-hearted  assailed 
you,  saying  it  should  never  dawn,  you  still  kept  your 
determined  way: 

-'  And  because  now,  with  the  brave  band  which  you  took 

safely  through  the  traps  and  treacheries  of  the  Night, 
you,  vindicated,  stand  at  the  threshold  of  ^e  Dawn, 
whence  you  see  the  spears  of  the  Resurrection  mom 
strike  the  sky: 

I  would  lend  lustre  to  this  little  book  by  writing  down 
at  its  beginning— even  without  your  permission — your 
bright  name — 

And  the  golden  name  of 

§>-      THE  CLAN-na-nGAODHAL. 

7-"^  S.  M.  M. 


a.1 


Order  of  Chapters 


I.  Btfore  SBflsBd  Cune. 

II.  XliMb*t]|   Cirilite*   Ireland. 

III.  Amd  Tkem  Came  Cromwell. 

IV.  B&clABd   Fosters   Irisk  Industries. 
V.  The  Pemal  Lawa. 

VI.  Still  the  Penal  Laws. 

VII.  Tke  Britiak  Garrison  ia  Ireland. 

VIII,  Raeourcee  oi  Emflish  CiTiliiation. 

IX.  The  Union— Gad  llesa  It 

X.  Our   Enfliah   Land   Laws. 

XI.  The    Last   Centnry   in   Ireland. 

XII.  Eniland's  Present-day  System. 

XIII.  Has  tte  Leopard  Chanfed  His  Spots? 

XIV.  The  tumming  Up. 


FOREWORD 

In  the  course  of  mj  lecture  tcmr  last  wiater  I 
was  due  to  talk  to  a  certain  large  Womaa't  Qmb 
in  a  Pacific  Coast  City.  The  women  were  dis- 
cussing the  subject  on  which  I  should  be  a^e^ 
to  address  them.  One  of  the  members  made 
claim  that  they  should  have,  from  me,  an  hiMori- 
cal  talk  upon  Ireland.  The  President  of  the 
Club,  a  truly  cultured  woman,  looked  sym^- 
thetically  through  her  lorgnetti;  at  the  member 
who  ha^  spoken,  and  patiently  pointed  out  to 
the  ignorant  one,  "But,  my  dear,  you  must  know 
that  Ireland  hasn't  any  history." 

My  continuous  peregrinations  through  Ameri- 
ca have  shown  me  that  Americans  know  nothing 
of  Irish  history. 

Irish-Americans  know  probably  double  as 
much  as  do  Americans.  So  you  can  credit  them 
WT^  double  'ought  on  the  subject. 

And  you  may,  at  the  same  time,  conservatively 
credit  five  or  six  times  'ought  to  the  purely  IriA 
here. 

In  the  case  of  the  Irish  this  is  criminal  igmor> 
anee.     In  Americans  it  is  largely  the  iattU  of 


English  historians  who,  through  the  generation)^, 
have  done  their  best  to  shed  abundant  darkness 
upon  the  subject  of  Ireland — ^and  of  theK  coun- 
try's relations  with  Ireland.  And  it  is  partly- 
due  to  the  lack  of  a  good,  gripping,  readable,  Irish 
history  being  popularized  here. 

It  is  a  century  since  Plowden  was  moved  in  his 
hcmesty  to  protest  against  his  brother  historians' 
continuous  and  persistent  misrepresentation  and 
beclouding  of  Ireland's  story.  But  honest  Plow- 
den's  protesting  was  about  as  effective  as  the 
badger's  trying  to  blow  the  breeze  from  his  door. 
Except  in  rare  instances,  English  historians  have 
ever  since  stuck  to  their  traditional  policy  of 
either  ignoring  Ireland's  wonderful  history  or 
gaibling  and  misrepresenting  it. 

This  little  book  is  compiled  for  the  purpose  of 
enlightening  all  who  need  it,  only  upon  the  fear- 
fully tragic  story  of  Ireland's  connection  with 
England.  And  even  in  that  it  only  touches  some 
of  the  high  spots. 

It  is  the  duty  of  every  man  and  woman  of  Irish 
blood,  first  to  study  and  digest  for  themselves  the 
following  papers,  and  next  to  force  them  on  the 
notice  of  the  purely  American  people — ^to  make 
Americans  study  and  digest  them  likewise — thus 
opening  their  eyes  to  a  revelation  that  will  shock 


them  out  of  their  present  unwitting  ignorance 
and  unblamable  indifference. 

If  Irish-American  readers  do  this  perseveringly 
and  conscientiously,  Ireland's  cause  will  get  new, 
forceful  allies. 

I  suppose  it  is  superfluous  to  point  out  that 
the  persecuting  English  Protestant  who  will  be 
so  often  mentioned  in  these  chapters,  is  no  nearer 
kin  to  the  reader's  sincere  Protestant  neighbor, 
whom  he  knows  and  loves,  than  is  the  politician 
to  the  patriot 

I  may  say  that  I  hope  the  present  little  work, 
a  preliminary  canter  into  Irish  history,  is  the 
forerunner  of  a  far  more  ambitious  one.  The 
STORY  OF  THE  IRISH  RACE,  on  which  I 
am  working,  and  which,  within  two  years,  I 
may,  with  God's  help,  be  able  to  present  to  Am- 
ericans and  to  Irish  alike. 

New  York,  July  i,  1917. 


\ 


r 


BEFORE  ENGLAND  CAME 
CHAPTER  L 

It  was  in  th«  jear  oi  Our  Lord,  itjt  tli«t 
England's  army  of  invasAoo  landed  in  Ireiamd. 

Some  of  mj  readers  know — but  T  fear  oaa-nj 
oi  them  do  not  know — chat  for  hundreds  of  jears 
before  that,  the  little  Island  sittinc  on  the  West- 
ern Ocean,  was  a  hive  of  learnin|^.  For  manj 
centuries  it  had  been  the  school  of  Europe. 

In  his  "Age  of  the  Saints,"  Borlase  says,  'Ire- 
land was  the  center  of  all  the  religious  and  liter- 
ary life  of  the  North.  Thither  every  peaceful 
scholar  and  every  philosopher  fled  for  refuf^e,  be- 
fore the  Pagan  hordes  which  swooped  over  Eur- 
ope/' And  M.  Darmestcter  says,  "Ireland  was  the 
asylum  of  the  higher  learning  which  took  reftige 
there  from  the  uncultured  states  of  Europe.  The 
Renaissance  began  in  Ireland  700  years  before 
it  was  known  in  Italy.  At  one  time  Arpiagh,  the 
ecclesiastical  capital  of  Ireland^  was  the  metro- 
polis of  civilization." 

Though  Ireland's  schools  had  been  heard  of 
OQ  the  Continent  of  Europe  before  Saiat  Patrick 

IX 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

brougfat  Christianity  to  Ireland  in  432,  it  was 
under  the  stimulus  of  the  new  faith  that  the  great 
schools  multiplied  in  Ireland — in  the  sixth  and 
seventh  centuries — and  fixed  the  eyes  of  Europe. 
They  attracted  crowds  of  hungering  scholars 
from  the  Continent,  to  whom,  as  testified  by  the 
ancient  Saxon  chronicler,  the  Venerable  Bede, 
Ireland  gave  food  and  shelter,  the  use  of  her 
books,  and  the  service  of  her  famous  teachers, 
gratis. 

The  sixteenth  century  Briton,  Camden,  treat- 
ing of  the  manner  in  which  the  English  in  the 
early  centuries  had  flocked  to  the  Irish  schools — 
and  of  the  distinction  conferred  upon  a  foreigner 
who  could  boast  an  Irish  education  says :  *'Hence 
it  is  frequently  read  in  our  histories  of  holy  men, 
'He  has  been  sent  to  Ireland  to  school.' " 

The  Reverend  Dr.  Milner  in  his  history  of  the 
English  Church,  says,  "The  Irish  clergy  were 
then  the  luminaries  of  the  Western  World.  To 
them  we  are  indebted  for  the  preservation  of 
the  Bible,  the  Fathers,  and  the  Classics.  Then,  a 
residence  in  Ireland,  like  a  residence  now  at  a 
university,  was  almost  essential  to  establish  a 
literary  reputation." 

We  have  record  of  seven  Egyptian  monks  dy- 
ing in  Ireland  in  the  eighth  century.  And  also  we 

12 


BEFORE  ENGLAND  CAME 


find  fifty  natives  of  Rome  "attracted  to  Ireland 
by  the  repute  of  the  people  for  piety  and  learn- 
ing, and  especially  for  knowledge  of  the  Sacred 
Scripture."  And  still  again  we  find  an  account  of 
150  people,  natives  of  Rome  and  Italy,  sailing  in 
company  to  Ireland  the  renowned. 

The  School  of  Glendalough  in  the  County  of 
Wicklow,  was  attended  by  two  thousand  stu- 
dents. The  School  of  Clonard  on  the  Boyne 
was  attended  by  three  thousand  students. 
King  Dagobert  II.  of  France  was  educated 
there.  From  this  school,  Ussher  tells  us. 
"Scholars  came  out  in  as  great  numbers  as 
Greeks  from  the  side  of  the  horse  of  Troy."  The 
School  of  Bangor  in  the  County  Down,  one  of 
the  most  famous  of  the  Irish  Schools,  was  attend- 
ed by  three  thousand  students. 

The  great  School  of  Clonmacnoise,  founded 
by  St.  Ciaran  in  the  sixth  century,  was  attended 
by  six  thousand  students.  A  great  university 
city  grew  up  around  it.  St.  Seananus  tells  how 
he,  in  one  day,  saw  no  less  than  seven  ships 
carrying  scholars  from  the  Continent  of  Europe, 
sail  up  the  River  Shannon,  bound  for  the  School 
of  Clonfert,  on  an  Island  in  the  river. 

And  through  those  early  centuries  the  Irish 
schools  were  not  only  receiving  and  educating 

13 


IRELAND'S  CASE 


scholars  from  the  Continent,  but,  year  after  year 
they  were  sending  forth  tct|ie  Continent  of  Eur- 
ope learned  men  and  hoiy  men  who  went  travel- 
lir.g  in  bands,  bearing  the  Might  of  learning  and 
the  torch  of  faith  to  the  barbarous  and  semi-bar- 
barous nations  of  the  Continent,  founding  schools, 
churches,  and  monasteries  wherever  they  went. 
The  Irish  saints  of  those  days  are  the  patron 
saints  of  many  corners  of  Europe  which  they 
evangelized.  Saint  Columbanus  evangelized 
Burgundy  and  Lombardy  in  the  sixth  century. 
He  founded  an  Irish  monastery  at  Luxeuil  in 
France  and  a  school  at  Bobbio  in  Italy  where 
he  died.*  The  Irish  Saint  Cathal  (Cathaldus), 
after  whom  San  Cataldo  in  Italy  is  named,  is 
the  patron  saint  of  Tarentum  in  Italy  of  which 
he  was  Bishop.  Saint  Fergal  (Virgilius)  Irish 
geometer,  who,  in  the  eighth  century  preached 
the  sphericity  of  the  earth,  was  Bishop  of  Salz- 
burg. Saint  Colman  is  the  patron  saint  of  Lower 
Austria.  Saint  Gall,  who  founded  the  famous 
Irish  School  and  monastery  named  after  him  in 
Switzerland,   is  the   great   Swiss   saint.       Saint 


*  I  would  advise  my  readers  to  get  Mrs. 
Tomas  O'Concannon's  very  fine  Life  of  St.  Co- 
lumban. 

14 


BEFORE  ENGLAND  CAME 

Fiacra  did  wonderful  work  for  Christianity  in 
Fiance.     Saint  Kilian  is  the  saint  of  Franconia. 

The  Irish  monks,  Aidan  and  his  fellows,  dis- 
ciples of  Saint  Colmcille,  going  forth  from  Colm- 
cille's  school  on  lona,  went  down  through  Britain, 
evangelizing  and  teaching.  It  is  said  that, 
about  the  middle  of  the  seventh  century  there 
was  only  one  Bishop  in  all  England  not  of  Irish 
consecration,  namely.  Bishop  Ag^lberct  of  Wes- 
sex.    Yet  he  was  trained  in  Ireland. 

Good  St.  Bernard  testified,  ''Ireland  poured 
out  swarms  of  Saints,  like  an  inundation,  upon 
foreign  countries.*' 

Antissiodorus,  of  old,  said,  "It  may  be  super- 
fluous to  relate  how  all  Ireland,  as  it  were,  emi- 
grated to  our  shores  with  her  swarms  of  philoso- 
phers." 

The  Continental  scholars  admit  that  St.  Co- 
lumbanus,  evangelizer  of  Burgundy  and  Lom- 
bardy,  was  head  and  shoulders  above  all  scholars 
of  his  day  in  Europe.  The  Emperor  Charle- 
magne, gathered  to  his  court  great  numbers  of 
the  Irish  scholars.  The  court  tutor  Qement  was 
an  Irishman.  The  g^eat  Irish  astronomer.  Dun- 
gall,  who  explained  for  the  Emperor  (in  a  docu- 
ment still  preserved,  dated  8ii),  the  eclipses  of 
the  sun  which  occurred  in  8io  and  which  had 

15 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

terrified  Cnarlemagne's  subjects,  came  to  reside 
at  the  Imperial  Court,  at  the  request  of  Charle- 
magne. Charlemagne's  grandson,  Lothajre,  had 
Dungall  found  the  School  of  Pavia  in  Italy  for 
civilizing  the  Lombards. 

Some  of  the  old  writers  relate  the  quaint  story 
of  how  in  Charlemagne's  day  there  arrived  in 
the  royal  City  two  men  from  Ireland,  who,  go- 
ing to  the  market-place,  took  a  prominent  stand 
there,  and  to  the  gaping,  wondering  crowds  an- 
nounced knowledge  for  sale.  When  word  of 
their  strange  proceedings  was  carried  to  the  Em- 
peror he  ordered  the  men  from  Ireland  to  be 
fetched  to  his  Palace — where  he  asked  them  their 
price  for  knowledge.  They  answered,  "A  shel- 
tering roof,  food  and  clothing,  and  eager-minded 
pupils."  This  price  he  readily  and  quickly 
ordered  to  be  paid  to  the  Irish  knowledge  ven- 
dors. 

Scaliger  Le  Jeune,  the  French  critic,  says  that 
in  Charlemagne's  day,  almost  all  the  learned  men 
in  Europe  were  Irishmen.  In  Charles  the  Bald's 
time  it  was  said  on  the  Continent  that  every  man 
there  who  knew  Greek  was  either  an  Irishman, 
or  the  pupil  of  an  Irishman. 

That  wonderful  Irish  scholar,  Johannes  Scotus 
Erigena,  always  referred  to  by  the  Continental 

i6 


BEFORE  ENGLAND  CAME 


scholars,  as  "The  Master/'  and  described  as  "a 
miracle  of  learning" — poet,  philosopher  and  the- 
ologian— was  brought  over  by  King  Charles  the 
Bald,  and  made  head  of  his  School  in  Paris. 

Professor  Stokes  enumerates  in  the  tenth  cen- 
tury twenty-four  Irish  schools  in  France,  eighteen 
in  Germany,  not  to  mention  the  many  in  Italy, 
Switzerland  and  the  Lowlands.  The  German 
philosopher.  Professor  Goerres  says,  "To  Ireland 
the  affrighted  spirit  of  truth  had  flown  during  the 
Gothic  irruptions  in  Europe,  and  there  made  its 
abode  in  safety  until  Europe  returned  to  repose, 
when  these  hospitable  philosophers,  who  had 
given  it  an  asylum,  were  called  by  Europe  to  re- 
store its  effulgent  light  over  her  bedarkened 
forests." 

In  their  address  to  Daniel  O'Connell  in  the  time 
of  his  Repeal  agitation,  the  German  College  men 
said:  "We  never  can  forget  to  look  upon  your 
beloved  country  as  our  mother  in  religion,  that 
already,  at  the  remotest  periods  of  the  Christian 
era,  commiserated  our  people,  and  readily  sent 
forth  her  spiritual  sons  to  rescue  our  pagan  an- 
cestors from  idolatry  at  the  sacrifice  of  her  own 
property  and  blood,  and  to  entail  upon  them  the 
blessings  of  the  Christian  faith." 

Hieric  in  his  biography  of  Saint  Gomanus, 

17 


IRELAND'S  tTASE  *^' 

written  in  the  latter  part  of  the  ninth  century, 
says  in  the  course  of  his  dedication  of  the  book 
tc  the  Emperor,  "Need  I  remind  Ireland  that  she 
sent  troops  of  philosophers  over  land  and  sea  to 
our  distant  shores,  that  her  most  learned  sons 
offered  gifts  of  wisdom  of  their  own  free  will,  in 
the  service  of  our  learned  King,  our  Solomon." 

The  eminent  Celtologist,  the  late  Professor 
Zimmer  (of  the  University  of  Berlin)  says :  "Ire- 
land can  not  only  boast  of  having  been  the  birth- 
place and  abode  of  high  culture  in  the  fifth  and 
sixth  centuries,  but  also  of  having  made  stren- 
uous efforts  in  the  seventh  century  to  spread  her 
learning  among  the  German  and  Romance  peo- 
ples, thus  forming  the  actual  foundations  of  our 
present  Continental  civilization." 

Their  love  of  faith  and  their  love  of  learning 
were  two  passions — or  was  it  one  passion?  which 
thrilled  the  souls  of  the  Irish  people.  And  they 
were  consumed  with  eagerness  to  share  with  the 
unfortunate  ones  abroad,  the  blessing  that  Heav- 
en had  so  bountifully  bestowed  on  them  at  home. 
Hence,  for  long  centuries,  there  was  pouring  out 
ficm  Ireland  and  spreading  everywhere,  from  Ice- 
land to  Africa,  from  Biscay  to  Syria,  a  steady 
stieam  of  fiery  crusaders  armed  with  Bible  and 
Cross,  jind  girded  with  stylus  and  tablets,  who 

i8 


BEFORE  ENGLAND  CAME 

knew  not  rest  nor  ease  while  still  any  comer  of 
the  darkened  Continent  yearned  for  the  light  of 
faith.  In  wave  after  wave  they  came,  dispers- 
ing themselves  over  many  lands,  and  lavishing, 
wherever  they  went,  their  golden  treasure — till 
Ireland  became  known  throughout  the  Continent 
of  Europe  by  the  phrase  Insula  Sanctorum  et 
Doctorum,  Island  of  Saints  and  Scholars ;  and 
the  name  of  Eire  became  in  the  mouths  of  the 
£u  jpean  populace  a  holy  name,  as  well  as  a 
name  of  mystery  and  wonder. 


^ 


CHAPTER  II. 
ELIZABETH    CIVILIZES    IRELAND 

Though  the  Danes  had  ravaged  many  quarters 
of  Ireland  in  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries — un- 
til they  were  cast  out  by  King  Brian  Boru  in 
IC14 — the  schools  were  again  flourishing,  beauti- 
ful churches  and  monasteries  were  being  erected, 
and  Ireland  was  holding  aloft  once  more  the  torch 
of  learning  whose  light  had  for  so  long  lighted 
the  world's  path,  when  the  English,  in  1172  be- 
gan the  conquest  which  it  took  long  and  terrible 
centuries  to  consummate — if  it  was  ever  con- 
summated. 

Conquering  Ireland,  inch  by  inch,  it  took  up- 
wards of  four  hundred  fearful  years  before  they 
had  extended  their  rule  to  the  country's  four  cor- 
ners. During  all  of  those  more  than  four  cen- 
turies, Ireland  got  but  few  moments  of  respite 
from  war.  Though  to  name  it  respite  is,  after  all, 
bitter  irony.  For  when  Ireland  was  not  shaken 
by  war,  it  was  racked  by  infinitely  worse  than 
war. 

Mrs.  Green  (widow  of  the  Englich  historian 

20 


ELIZABETH   CIVILIZES   IRELAND 
\ 

Green)  says,  "At  a  prodigious  price,  at  any  con- 
oeivable  cost  of  human  woe,  the  purging  ot  the 
soil  from  the  Irish  race  was  begun.  There  was 
no  protection  for  any  soul — the  old,  sick,  infants, 
women  or  scholars.  No  quarter  was  allowed,  no 
fcith  kept,  and  no  truce  g^ven.  Chiefs  were  made 
to  draw  and  carry,  to  abase  them — poets  and 
historians  were  slaughtered,  and  their  books  of 
genealogies  burned." 

Under  Elizabeth,  Ireland  almost  touched  the 
depths.  Her  troops  butchered  and  burned,  <?ar- 
ried  fire  and  sword  to  the  ends  of  the  Island — 
and  left  the  hitherto  smiling  and  fruitful  province 
of  Munster,  a  blackened  and  desolate  waste.  The 
old  English  chronicler,  Hollinshed,  vividly  de- 
scribes this  desolation — ^''The  land  which  before 
was  populous,**  he  says,  "and  rich  in  all  the  good 
blessings  of  God;  plenteous  of  corn;  full  of  cat- 
tle; well-stored  with  fruits  and  other  commodi- 
ties; is  now  waste  and  barren,  yielding  no  fruit, 
the  pastures  no  cattle,  the  fields  no  com,  the  air 
no  birds.  Finally,  every  way,  the  curse  of  God  is 
so  great  and  the  land  become  so  barren — both 
of  man  and  beast,  that  whoever  did  travel  from 
one  end  of  Munster  to  the  other,  over  six  score 
miles,  would  not  meet  any  man  or  child,  save  in 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

towns  and  cities;  nor  yet  sec  any  beasts  save 
wolves,  dogs  and  other  ravening  things." 

It  was  the  curse  of  God  observe,  not  that  of 
Elizabeth,  which  had  fallen  upon  Ireland. 
Always,  to  the  good  Briton,  when  England  curses 
God  applauds. 

And  of  the  stricken  survivors  of  Elizabeth's 
Wars  in  the  South,  the  English  poet,  Edmund 
Spenser,  who  came  as  Chief  Secretary  to  Ireland, 
says  "At  that  time,  out  of  the  woods  and  glyns 
came  creeping  forth  upon  their  hands  (being  un- 
able to  stand  upright,  from  starvation),  things 
that  looked  like  anatomies  of  death,  that  chattered 
like  ghosts  risen  out  of  their  graves.  And  they 
did  eat  the  carrions,  happy  where  they  could  find 
them." 

The  English  General,  Sir  Richard  Perrin,  ex- 
ultingly  wrote  that  he  left  "neither  corn,  nor 
horn,  nor  house  unburnt,  between  Kinsale  and 
Ross/' 

And  the  Irish  chroniclers,  the  Four  Masters, 
writing  of  one  of  the  vast  tracts  of  Munster  over 
which  the  civilizers  had  swept — under  date,  1582. 
say  "Neither  the  lowing  of  a  cow,  nor  the  voice 
of  a  plowman  was,  this  year,  to  be  heard  here." 

Sir  Henry  Sidney  (Deputy)  at  length  informed 
Elizabeth,  "There  are  not,  I  am  sure,  in  any  re- 

22 


ELIZABETH   CIVILIZES    IRELAND 

gion  where  the  name  of  Christ  is  professed  such 
horrible  spectacles  as  are  here  to  be  beheld — ^yea 
the  view  of  bones  and  skulls,  of  dead  who,  partly 
by  murder  and  partly  by  famine,  have  died  in  the 
fields,  is  such  that  hardly  any  Christian  can  with 
dry  eye  behold." 

Elizabeth  did  not  content  herself  with  merely 
civilizing.  She  also  evangelized  in  the  most  per- 
suasive Christian  way.  In  the'  twenty-seventh 
year  of  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  it  was 
enacted  that  **  Every  Romish  priest  found 
in  the  Island  is  deemed  guilty  of  rebellion. 
He  shall  be  hanged  till  half  dead,  then 
his  head  taken  off,  his  bowels  drawn  out  and 
burnt,  and  his  head  fixed  on  a  pole  in  some  pub- 
lic place."  While  the  criminal  who  would  shel- 
ter a  priest  was  to  have  all  his  goods  confiscated, 
and  for  his  flagrant  crime  die  upon  the  gallows. 

This  Act  of  course  was  only  meant  as  a  rough 
working  basis  for  the  introduction  of  Christian 
light  and  love  into  the  souls  of  the  benighted 
Irish.  The  authorities  were  required  to  improve 
upon  it  by  working  out  practical  details.  In  the 
case  of  Archbishop  O'Hurley  of  Cashel,  for  in- 
stance, the  sublime  beauty  of  true  Christfanity 
was  brought  home  to  him  and  to  those  whom  he 
misled,  by  the  simple  but  effective  device  of  put- 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

tmg  his  legs  into  loose  jack  boots  which  were 

then  filled  with  quick  lime  and  water ;  and  letting 

him  meditate  upon  the  wondrous  splendor  of  the 

English  religion,  while  his  legs  were  being  slowly 

eg  ten  to  the  bone — after  which  other  ingenious 

persuasions  were  practised  on  him,  before  his  be- 
ing hung  upon  the  gallows.  A  Protestant  his- 
torian, revolting  at  this,  describes  the  torture  as 
"The  most  horrible  torture  known  to  humanity." 

That  was  a  sample  out  of  thousands  of  the 
evangelizing  methods  of  Elizabeth  in  Ireland. 
Let  us  note  some  samples  of  the  civilizing — say 
the  massacres  of  Smerwick,  Clannaboy  and  Mul- 
laghmast. 

A  garrison  of  Spanish  allies  of  the  Irish,  who 
held  Smerwick  Fort  in  Kerry,  was  attacked  by 
English  troops  under  the  Deputy,  Lord  Grey. 
On  promise  of  mercy,  the  Spaniards  surrendered. 
After  their  arms  had  been  collected  from  them 
Grey  sent  into  the  fort  a  company  of  English 
soldiers  under  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  to  give  these 
fellows  a  taste  of  English  mercy.  Every  Span- 
iard was  butchered  in  cold  blood.  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh  was  rewarded  with  a  grant  of  forty  thou- 
sand acres  (of  other  people's  property  of  course), 
in  County  Cork.    It  should  be  noted  that  th€  gen- 


ELIZABETH   CIVILIZES   IRELAND 

tie  poet,  Edmund  Spenser,  made  public  defence  of 
the  Smerwick  massacre. 

In  this  connection  I  would  pause  to  emphasize 
the  essential  and  unconscious  brutality  of  the 
Saxon  nature  when  we  find  even  the  most  beau- 
tiful minded  of  the  race — one  who  had  such  lofty 
imagination,  sweet  fancy,  and  rare  poetic  soul  as 
Edmund  Spenser,  not  only  defending  this  hor- 
rible deed,  but  actually  advocating,  as  he  did, 
that  since  the  Irish  nation  could  not  be  made 
amenable  to  fire  and  sword,  the  race  could  be 
wiped  out  (to  make  room  for  good  Englishmen) 
by  creating  famine  and  pestilence  among  them. 
"The  end  will  (I  assure  me)  '  be  very  short.*' 
Spenser  says  in  his  State  of  Ireland:  "Although 
there  should  none  fall  by  the  sword  nor  be  slain 
by  the  soldier  ...  by  this  hard  restraint  they 
would  quietly  consume  themselves,  and  devour 
one  another." 

The  massacre  of  Mullaghmast  is  probably  a 
still  better  illustration  of  Elizabeth's  forcible  and 
effective  civilizing  strokes  in  Ireland.  To  the 
Rath  of  Mullaghmast  were  invited  by  English 
proclamation,  some  hundreds  of  the  leading  men 
among  the  Irish  within  the  Pale— chiefly  men 
of  the  clans  O'Connor  and  O'More — ^invited  for 
a  friendly  interview.    When  they  were  collected, 

US 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

they  were  surrounded  by  three  or  four  lines  of 
horse  and  foot,  fallen  upon,  and  murdered  to  the 
last  man.  No  single  soul  was  permitted  to  escape 
from  the  dreadful  Rath  of  Mullaghmast. 

And  then  Qannaboy.  The  Earl  of  Essex  in- 
duced the  Chief,  Brian  O'Nctll  of  Clannaboy,  to 
make  peace  with  him.  But  a  dead  O'Neill  was 
always  a  more  comfortable  stfht  to  the  English 
than  a  live  one.  To  celebrate  the  peace-making  the 
Earl  with  a  great  troop  of  retainers  visited  O'Neill. 
Well,  and  purposely,  armed  they  attended 
the  banquet  given  to  Briwi  im  lits  castle — to  which 
banquet  Brian  had  invited  mriny  of  his  fellows  of 
note.  In  the  middle  of  the  banquet,  when  all  the 
Irish  were  off  their  guard,  at  a  given  signal  the 
English  drew  their  weapons  and  massacred  all 
of  the  Irish  present  with  the  exception  of  O'Neill, 

his  wife,  and  his  brother,  who  were  carried  to 
Dublin  and  there  cut  in  qv.artcrs — as  a  stimulus 
to  the  Irish  nation  to  respect,  imitate,  and  adopt 
English  civiliza'tion. 

This  massacre  of  Clannaboy  is  treated  by 
Ethna  Carbery  in  one  of  her  most  stirring 
ballads — 

26 


ELIZABETH    CIVILIZES    IRELAND 
THE    BETRAYAL    OF    CLANNABUIDHE* 

(Belfast  Castle,  November,  1574) 

From  Brian  O'Neill  in  his  Northern  home 

Went  swiftly  a  panting  vassal. 
Bidding  the  lord  of  Essex  come 

To  a  feast  in  his  forded  castle. 
To  a  friendly  feast  where  the  gleaming  foam 

Of  the  wine-cup  crowned  the  wassaiL 
To  Brian  O'Neill  came  his  gentle  wife, 

And  wild  were  her  eyes  of  warning; 
"A  banquet-chamber  of  blood  and  strife, 

I  dreamt  of  'twixt  night  and  morning. 
And  a  voice  that  keened  for  a  Chieftain's  life"— 
But  he  laughed  as  he  kissed  her,  scorning. 

"In  peace  have  I  bidden  the  strangers  here. 

And  not  to  the  note  of  battle; 
My  flagons  await  them  with  bubbling  cheer, 

I  have  slaughtered  my  choicest  cattle; 
And  sweetest  of  harpings  shall  g^cct  thine  car, 

Aroon !  o'er  the  goblet's  rattle.** 
In  pride  he  hath  entered  his  banquet  hall. 

Unwitting  what  may  betide  him. 


♦From  Ethna  Carber/s  "The  Four  Winds  of  Einnn* 
(Funk,  Wagnalls  Co.) 

27 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

Girded  round  by  his  clansmen  tall, 

And  his  lady  fair  beside  him ; 
From  his  lips  sweet  snatches  of  music  fall, 

And  none  hath  the  heart  to  chide  him. 

i 

Hath  he  forgotten  his  trust  betrayed 

In  the  bitterest  hour  of  trjj^l? 
Hath  he  forgotten  his  prayer  half-stayed 

At  the  Viceroy's  grim  denial? 
And  the  bloody  track  of  the  Saxon  raid 

On  the  fertile  lands  of  Niall? 

Essex  hath  coveted  Massareene, 

And  Toomc  by  the  Bann's  wide  border, 

Edenhucarrig's  dark  towers — the  scene 
Of  hard-won  fight's  disorder; 

And  Castlereagh,  set  in  a  maze  of  green 
Tall  trees,  like  a  watchful  warder. 

Brian  O'Neill  he  hath  gazed  adown 

Where  the  small  waves,  one  by  one,  met 

The  sward  that  sloped  from  the  hilltops  thrown 
Dusky  against  the  sunset ; 

Sighed  in  his  soul  for  his  lost  renown, 
And  the  rush  of  an  Irish  onset. 

28 


ELIZABETH   CIVILIZES   IRELAND 

Woe !  he  is  leagued  with  his  father's  foe. 

Hath  buried  the  ancient  fever 
Of  hate,  while  he  watches  his  birthright  go 

Away  from  his  hands  for  ever ; 
No  longer  Clan-Niall  deals  blow  for  blow, 

His  country's  bonds  to  sever. 

»  *  ♦  ♦  ♦  • 

Over  the  Ford  to  his  castle  grey 

They  troop  with  their  pennons  flying — 

(Was  that  the  ring  of  a  far  hurrah, 
Or  the  banshee  eerily  crying?) 

In  glittering  glory  the  gallant  array 

Spurs  hard  up  the  strand,  low-lying. 

Three  swift-speeding  days  with  the  castle's  lord 
They  had  hunted  his  woodi^  and  valleys ; 

Three  revelling  nights  while  the  huge  logs  roared, 
And  the  bard  with  his  harp-string  dallies, 

Freely  they  quaffed  of  the  rich  wine,  poured 
As  meed  of  the  courtly  sallies. 

(Yet  one  fair  face  in  the  laughing  crowd 
Grew  wan  as  the  mirth  waxed  faster, 

Her  blue  eyes  saw  but  a  spectral  shroud, 
And  a  spectral  host  that  passed  her; 

Her  ears  heard  only  the  banshee's  loud 
Wild  prescience  of  disaster.) 

29 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

Gaily  the  voice  of  the  chieftain  rang, 

Deeply  his  warriors  blended 
In  chant  of  the  jubilant  song  they  sang 

Ere  the  hours  of  the  feasting  ended;     * 
But  hark!  Why  that  ominous  clash  and  clang? 

And  what  hath  that  shout  portended? 

What  Speech  uncourteous  this  clamor  provokes, 
Through  the  midst  of  the  banter  faring? 

Forth  flashes  the  steel  from  the  festal  cloaks, 
Vengeful    and    swift,    unsparing — 

And    Clannabuidhe's    bravest    reel    'neath    the 
strokes, 
Strive  blindly,  and  die  despairing! 

O'Gilmore  sprang  to  his  Tanist's  side 

Shrilling  his  war-cry  madly — 
Ah !  far  are  the  kerns  who  at  morning-tide 

Would  flock  to  the  summons  gladly ; 
The  echoes  break  on  the  rafters  wide, 

And  sink  into  silence  sadly. 

Captive  and  bleeding  he  stands — the  lord 
Of  the  faithful  dead  around  him; 
Captive  and  bleeding — the  victor  horde 

In  their  traitorous  might  surround  him; 

30 


ELIZABETH   CIVILIZES   IRELAND 

From  his  turrets  is  waving  their  flag  abhorred, 
And  their  cruel  thongs  have  bound  him. 

♦  ♦  «  «  *  « 

Cold  are  the  fires  in  the  banqueting  hall. 
Withered  the  flowers  that  graced  it. 

Silent  for  ever  the  clansmen  tall 

Who  stately  and  proudly  paced  it ; 

Gloom  broods  like  a  pall  o'er  each  lofty  wall 
For  the  foul  deed  that  disgraced  it. 

There  is  grief  by  the  shores  of  the  Northern  sea, 
And  grief  in  the  woodlands  shady. 

There  is  wailing  for  warriors  stout  to  see, 
Of  the  sinewy  arm  and  steady; 

There  is  woe  for  the  Chieftain  of  Clannabuidhe, 
And  tears  for  his  gentle  lady. 

The  honest  Scottish  Protestant  Dr.  Smiles 
sums  up  the  Elizabethan  work  in  Ireland,  "Men, 
women  and  children  wherever  found  were  put  in- 
discriminately to  death.  The  soldiery  was  mad 
for  blood.  Priests  were  murdered  at  the  altar,  chil- 
dren at  their  mother's  breast.  The  beauty  of 
woman,  the  venerableness  of  age,  the  innocence 
of  youth  was  no  protection  against  these  san- 
guinary demons  in  human  form." 

And  old  Hollinshed  enthusiastically  sets  down, 

31 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

"The  soldiers  in  the  camps  were  so  hot  upon  the 
spur,  and  ^so  eager  upon  the  vile  rebels,  that  they 
spared  neither  man,  woman  or  child.  They  put 
all  to  the  sword." 

Cox,  an  English  writer  of  the  old  time,  tells 
with  much  relish,  "They  performed  their  duty  so 
effectually  and  brought  the  rebels  to  so  low  a  con- 
dition that  they  saw  three  children  eating  the  en- 
trails of  their  dead  mother,  on  whose  flesh  they 
had  fed  many  days." 

The  historian  Lecky  (a  bitter  anti-Home  Ruler, 
and  staunch  upholder  of  British  power  in  Ire- 
land), admits  in  the  preface  to  his  "History  of 
Ireland  in  the  Eighteenth  Century."  "The  slaugh- 
ter of  Irishmen  was  looked  upon  as  literally  the 
slaughter  of  wild  beasts.  Not  only  men,  but  even 
women  and  children  who  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  English,  were  deliberately  and  systematically 
butchered.  Bands  of  soldiers  traversed  great 
tracts  of  country,  slaying  every  living  thing  they 
met."  And  he  also  says,  "The  suppression  of  the 
native  race  was  carried  on  with  a  ferocity  which 
surpassed  that  of  Alva  in  the  Netherlands,  and 
which  has  seldom  been  exc-eeded  in  the  pages  of 
history." 

It  is  no  wonder  that  in  a  short  time  one  of  her 
•oldier  courtiers  was  able  to  convey  to  Eliza- 

33 


EUZABETH  CIVILIZES  IRELAND 

beth  the  gratifying  intelligence.  "There  is  now 
little  left  in  Ireland  for  your  Majesty  to  reign 
over,  but  carcasses  and  ashes." 

And  Sir  George  Carew — after  doing  his  fearful 
share,  with  rack  and  torch  and  sword,  in  reducing 
Ireland  almost  to  a  solitude — ^wiped  his  sword, 
took  up  his  pen,  and  leisurely  wrote  his  Hibernia 
Pacata — Ireland  Pacified! 

The  only  other  quality  in  an  Englishman's 
makeup  that  is  at  all  comparable  with  his  un- 
conscioot  brutality,  is  his  unconscious  humor. 


CHAPTER  III. 
AND  THEN  CAME  CROMWELL 

Elizabeth's  worthy  work  of  introducing  Brit- 
ish civilization  to  the  benighted  Irish  met  with 
marked  success. 

But  the  good  work  probably  reached  its  cli- 
max under  Cromwell,  who  scourged,  tortured 
and  butchered  the  population,  and  drenched  the 
land  in  a  deluge  of  blood. 

For  Cromwell,  the  ground  was  well  prepared. 
Five  Northern  Counties  had  been  depopulated 
thirty  years  before,  to  make  room  for  James's 
Scotchmen.  The  wretched  Irish  survivors  of  the 
depopulation  campaign,  those  who  had  been 
lobbed  of  their  houses  and  lands,  and  bereaved 
oi  kith  and  kin,  were  hunted  like  animals  in  the 
hills  to  which  they  had  fled.  On  the  23rd  .of 
Oct.  1641  there  was  a  general  rising  of  the  hunt- 
ed ones.  They  swooped  back  over  the  lands 
where  their  plunderers  had  been  fattening  in  ease 
and  plenty.  England  was  aroused  by  frightful 
reports  of  a  general  massacre  of  almost  all  the 
British  in  Ireland  I  * 

34 


AND  THEN  CAME  CROMWELL 

It  would  not  have  been  strange  if  these  poor 
wretches — plundered,  harried,  hounded,  and  driv- 
en to  frenzy — had  wreaked  terrible  vengeance 
on,  and  exterminated,  their  merciless  tyrants. 
But  the  Protestant  Minister,  Rev.  Ferdinand 
Warner  in  his  "History  of  the  Irish  Rebellion," 
written  a  few  years  after  the  event,  says,  "It  is 
easy  enough  to  demonstrate  the  falsehood  of  the 
relation  of  every  English  historian  of  the  re- 
bellion.** And  another  celebrated  Protestant 
historian,  Dr.  Taylor,  in  his  "Civil  Wars  of  Ire- 
land," says,  "The  Irish  massacre  of  1641  has 
been  a  phrase  so  often  repeated,  even  in  books 
of  education,  that  one  can  scarcely  conceal  his 
surprise  when  he  learns  that  the  tale  is  apocryp- 
hal as  the  wildest  fiction  of  romance."  He  says, 
"There  were  crimes  committed  owing  to  the 
wickedness  of  particular  men.  But  it  is  only 
fair  to  add  that  all  atrocities  were  not  only  dis- 
couraged, but  punished,  by  the  Irish  nobility  and 
gentry." 

To  suppress  this  rebellion  the  whole  pack  of 
England's  carefully  nurtured  savageries,  and 
best  trained  savages,  were  unleashed  Against 
Ireland. 

Sir  Charles  Coote  typical  of  the  English  gen- 
erals in  this  war  employed  rack,  and  dungeon 

3$ 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

and  roasting  to  death  for  appeasing  of  the  tur- 
bulent natives.  He  stopped  at  nothing — even 
hanging  women  with  child. 

Lord  Clarendon  in  his  narrative  of  the  events 
of  the  time  records,  how,  after  Coote  plundered 
and  burned  the  town  of  Clontarf,  he  massacred 
townspeople,  men  and  women,  "and  three  suck- 
ling infants."  And  in  that  same  week,  says 
Clarendon,  men,  women  and  children  of  the  vil- 
lage of  Bullock  frightened  of  the  fate  of  Clon- 
tarf, went  to  sea  to  shun  the  fury  of  the  soldiers 
who  came  from  Dublin  under  Colonel  Clifford, 
"Being  pursued  by  the  soldiers  in  boats  and 
overtaken,  they  were  all  thrown  overboard." 

Coote  and  Clifford  were  not  better  or  worse 
than  the  average  of  the  pacifiers  of  Ireland.  I 
could  quote  here  more  instances  ot  the  blood- 
freezing  kind  than  would  fill  a  large  book.  But 
for  my  purpose  one  or  two  samples  are  as  good 
as  a  thousand.  Castlehaven  sets  down  one  in- 
cident characteristic  of  the  humanity  of  the  Eng- 
lish troopers.  He  tells  how  Sir  Arthur  Loftus, 
Governor  of  Naas,  marched  out  with  a  party  of 
horse,  and  being  joined  by  a  party  sent  by  Or- 
mond  from  Dublin,  "They  both  together  killed 
such  of  the  Irish  as  they  met  ....  but  th^ 
most  considerable  slaughter  occurred  in  a  g.vAi 

36 


AND  THEN  CAME  CROMWELL 

strait  of  furze,  situated  on  a  hill,  where  the  peo- 
ple of  several  villages  had  fled  for  shelter."  Sir 
Arthur  surrounded  the  hill,  fired  the  furze,  and 
with  the  points  of  swords,  drove  back  into  the 
flames  the  burning  men,  women  and  children 
who  tried  to  emerge — till  the  last  child  was  burn- 
ed to  a  crisp.  Says  Castlehaven  in  his  Memoirs, 
"I  saw  the  bodies — and  the  furze  still  burning." 
For  it  should  be  particularly  noted  that  the 
suckling  infant  aroused  in  the  brave  Britons  the 
same  noble,  blood-thirst  that  did  the  fighting 
rebel.  The  butchering  of  infants  was  more  dili- 
gently attended  to  during  the  Cromvvellian  per- 
iod, than  in  any  previous  or  subsequent  English 
excursion  through  Ireland.  It  is  matter  of  rec- 
ord that  in  the  presence,  and  with  the  tolera- 
tion, of  their  officers — in  at  least  one  case  with 
the  hearty  approval  of  a  leader — the  common 
soldiers  engaged  in  the  sport  of  tossing  Irish 
babes  upon  their  spears.  A  noted  old  English 
historian,  Dr.  Nalson,  in  his  account  of  the 
rebellion  states  (Introduction  to  his  Second  Vol- 
ume) "I  have  heard  a  relation  of  my  own,  who 
was  a  captain  in  that  service  (in  Ireland),  relate 
that  ....  little  children  were  promiscuously 
sufferers  with  the  guilty,  and  that  when  anyone 
who  had  some  grains  of  compassion  reprehended 

37 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

the  soldiers  for  this  unchristian  inhumanity,  they 
would  scoffingly  reply  'Why  ?  nits  will  be  lice  T 
and  so  despatch  them." 

In  countering  this  rebellion  the  Britsh  opened 
the  game  with  the  fearful  County  Antrim  horror 
known  to  history  as  the  Massacre  of  Island 
Magee — where,  after  murdering  a  multitude  in 
brd,  the  women  and  children,  screaming  and 
begging  for  mercy,  were  driven  before  the  troops' 
goading  bayonets  to  the  terrible  Gobbins  cliffs — 
and  thrown  over  the  cliflFs  to  fearful  death  below ! 

The  singer  of  Ireland's  woes  and  Ireland's  joys, 
Ethna  Carbery,  sang  a  fierce  song  of  this  terrible 

deed—  BRIAN  BOY  MAGEE. 

I  am  Brian  Boy  Magee — 

My  Father  was  Eoghain  Ban — 

1  was  wakened  from  happy  dreams 

By  the  shouts  of  my  startled  clan ; 

And  I  saw  through  the  leaping  glare 

That  marked  where  our  homestead  stood. 

My  mother  swing  by  her  hair — 

And  my  brothers  lie  in  their  blood. 

In  the  creepy  cold  of  the  night 
The  pitiless  wolves  came  down — 
Scotch  troops  from  that  Castle  grim 
Guarding  Knockfergus  Town; 

3« 


AND  THEN  CAME  CROMWELL 

And  they  hacked  and  lashed  and  hewed, 
With  musket  and  rope  and  sword, 
Till  my  murdered  kin  lay  thick, 
In  pools,  by  the  Slaughter  Ford! 

I  fong^ht  by  my  father's  side, 
And  when  we  were  fighting  sore 
We  saw  a  line  of  their  steel 
With  our  shrieking  women  before ; 
The  red-coats  drove  them  on 
To  the  verge  of  the  Gobbins  gray, 
Hurried  them — God,  the  sight! 
As  the  sea  foamed  up  for  its  prey. 

Oh,  tall  were  the  Gobbin  cliffs. 
And  sharp  were  the  rocks,  my  woe ! 
And  tender  the  limbs  that  met 
Such  terrible  death  below; 
Mother  and  babe  and  maid 
They  clutched  at  the  empty  air. 
With  eyeballs  widened  in  fright. 
That  hour  of  despair. 

(Sleep  soft  in  your  heaving  bed, 
O  little  fair  love  of  my  heart! 
The  bitter  oath  I  have  sworn 
Shall  be  of  my  life  a  part; 

39 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

And  for  every  piteous  prayer 
You  prayed  on  your  way  to  die, 
May  I  hear  an  enemy  plead, 
While  I  laugh  and  deny.) 

In  the  dawn  that  was  gold  and  red, 
Ay,  red  as  the  blood-choked  stream, 
I  crept  to  the  perilous  brink — 
Great  Christ !  was  the  night  a  dream  ? 
In  all  the  Island  of  Gloom 
I  only  had  life  that  day — 
Death  covered  the  green  hill-sides, 
And  tossed  in  the  Bay. 

I  have  vowed  by  the  pride  of  my  sires — 
By  my  mother's  wandering  ghost — 
By  my  kinsfolk's  shattered  bones 
Hurled  on  the  cruel  coast — 
By  the  sweet  dead  face  of  my  love. 
And  the  wound  in  her  gentle  breast- 
To  follow  that  murderous  band, 
A  sleuth-hound  who  knows  no  rest. 

I  shall  go  to  Phelim  O'Neill 
With  my  sorrowful  tale,  and  crave 
A  blue-bright  blade  of  Spain, 
In  the  ranks  of  his  soldiers  brave. 

40 


AND  THEN  CAME  CROMWELL 

And  God  grant  me  the  strength  to  wield 
That  shining  avenger  well — 
When  the  Gael  shall  sweep  his  foe 
Through  the  yawning  gates  of  Hell. 

I  am  Brian  Boy  Mageel 

And  my  creed  is  a  creed  of  hate; 

Love,  Peace,  I  have  cast  aside — 

But  Vengeance,  Vengeance,  I  waitl 

Till  I  pay  back  the  four-fold  debt 

For  the  horrors  I  witnessed  there. 

When  my  brothers  moaned  in  their  blood. 

And  my  mother  swung  by  her  hair. 

In  1644  the  British  Parliament  ordered  no 
quarter  to  Irish  troops  in  Britain.  Ormond  shipt 
150  Royalists  from  Galway  to  Bristol,  under  Wil- 
loughby.  Captain  Swanley  seized  the  ship, 
picked  out  from  amongst  the  troops  seventy 
whom  he  considered  to  be  Irish  and  threw  them 
overboard.  The  Journal  of  the  English  House 
of  Commons  for  June  of  that  year  records  that 
"Captain  Swanley  was  called  into  the  House  of 
Commons  and  thanks  given  to  him  for  his  good 
service,  and  a  chain  of  gold  of  two  hundred 
pounds  in  value." 

In  pursuance  of  the  same  admirable  policy, 
Napier  in  his  ''Life  of  Montrose"  says  that,  in 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

Scotland,  in  one  day,  eighty  Irish  women  and 
children  were  thrown  over  a  bridge,  and 
drowned. 

Clarendon  tells  that  the  Earl  of  Warwick  when 
he  captured  Irish  frigates,  used  to  tie  the  Irish 
sailors  back  to  back,  and  fling  them  into  the  sea. 

So,  a  sympathetic  atmosphere  had  been  created 
for  Cromwell's  coming.  And  Cromwell  quickly 
demonstrated  that  he  deserved  such  preparation. 

In  Wexford  town  alone,  although  negotiations 
for  surrender  had  beg^n,  Cromwell  slew  two 
thousand.  Lingard  in  his  "History  of  Eng- 
land" says,  "Wexford  was  abandoned  to  the 
mercy  of  the  assailants.  The  tragedy  recently 
enacted  at  Drogheda  was  renewed.  No  distinc- 
tion was  made  between  the  defenceless  inhabi- 
tants and  the  armed  soldiers,  nor  could  the 
shrieks  and  prayers  of  three  hundred  females 
who  had  gathered  round  the  great  Cross  in  the 
market-place,  preserve  them  from  the  swords 
of  these  ruthless  barbarians." 

Cromwell  in  explaining  the  matter  to  the  com- 
plete satisfaction  of  his  saintly  self  and  the  pious 
English  nation,  wrote,  that  he  "thought  it  not 
right  or  good  to  restrain  off  the  soldiers  from 
their  right  of  pillage,  nor  from  doing  execution 
on. the  enemy.**     (From  "Cromwell's  Letters,**) 

42 


AND  THEN  CAME  CROMWELL 

Though,  after  the  sack  of  Drogheda,  he  prob- 
ably could  not  surpass  himself.  In  the  five  days 
massacre  at  Drogheda  only  thirty  men  out  of 
a  garrison  of  three  thousand  escaped  the  sword. 
And  it  is  impossible  to  compute  what  other  thou- 
sands, of  non-combatants,  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren, wer«  butchered.  In  the  vaults,  underneath 
the  church,  a  great  number  oi  the  finest  women 
or  the  city  sought  refuge.  But  hardly  one,  if 
one,  even  of  these,  was  left  to  tell  the  awful 
tale  of  unspeakable  outrage  and  murder. 

And  of  all  the  men,  women  and  children  who 
had  taken  refuge  in  the  cknrch  tower,  none 
escaped.  In  the  attack  upon  the  church  tower, 
the  English  soldiers  made  good  use  again  of  a 
device  which  they  always  practised  when  oppor- 
tunity offered.  They  picked  up  children 
and  carried  them  in  front  of  them  as  bucklers. 

Arthur  Wood  the  Historian  of  Oxford,  gives 
us  a  narrative  compiled  from  the  account  of  his 
brother  who  was  an  officer  in  Cromwell's  army, 
and  who  had  been  through  the  siege  and  sack  of 
Drogheda — a  narrative  that  throws  interesting 
sidelight  upon  the  Christian  methods  of  the  Eng- 
lish army,  and  the  quaint  point  of  view  of  the 
most  cultured  of  them.  Wood's  narrative  says, 
"Eadi  of  the  assailants  would  take  up  a  child 

43 


IRELAND^  CASB 

and  use  it  as  a  buckler  of  defence  to  keep  him 
from  being  shot  or  brained.  After  they  had 
killed  all  in  the  church  they  went  into  the  vaults 
underneath,  where  all  the  choicest  of  women  and 
ladies  had  hid  themselves.  One  of  these,  a  most 
handsome  virgin,  arrayed  in  costly  and  gorgeous 
apparel,  knelt  down  to  Wood  with  tears,  and 
prayers,  begging  for  her  life,  and  being  stricken 
with  a  profound  pity,  he  did  take  her  under  his 
arm  for  protection,  and  went  with  her  out  of  the 
church  with  intention  to  put  her  over  the  works, 
to  shift  for  herself.  But  a  soldier,  perceiving  his 
intention,  ran  his  sword  through  her,  whereupon 
Mr.  Wood,  seeing  her  gasping,  took  away  her 
money,  jewels  etc.,  and  flung  her  down  over  the 
works."  The  instincts  of  the  English  gentleman 
burst  through  the  Christian  crust  in  Mr.  Wood. 
But  hearken  to  how  one  of  the  greatest  of  Eng- 
lish Christians — perhaps  the  shining  light  of 
English  Puritanism — at  one  stroke,  both  haloes 
his  crime  and  honors  God  by  giving  God  partner- 
ship with  him  in  his  most  demoniac  work.  In 
his  despatch  to  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, after  Drogheda,  Cromwell  says»  ."It  has 
pleased  God  to  bless  our  endeavor  at  Drogheda 
.  .  .  the  enemy  were  about  3,000  strong  in  th< 
town.    I  believe  we  put  to  the  sword  the  whote 

44 


AND  THEN  CAME  CROMWELL 

number.  •  •  .  This  hath  been  a  marvelous  great 
mercy.  ...  I  wish  that  all  honest  hearts  may 
give  the  glory  of  this  to  God  alone,  to  whom 
indeed  the  praise  of  this  mercy  belongs."  And 
again  this  shining  light  of  Christianity  says,  "In 
this  very  place  (St.  Peter  s  Church),  lOO  of  them 
were  put  to  the  sword,  fleeing  thither  for  safety. 
.  .  .  And  now  give  me  leave  to  say  how  this 
work  was  wrought.  It  was  set  upon  some  of  our 
hearts  that  a  great  thing  should  be  done,  not  by 
power  or  might,  but  by  the  spirit  of  God.  And  is 
it  not  so  clearly?" 

The  Englishman's  intimacy  with,  and  obedi- 
ence to,  the  spirit  of  God,  throughout  England's 
history  in  Ireland,  enables  him  always  to  speak 
with  authority  upon  the  subject.  And  the  spirit 
of  God,  we  may  expect,  is  exalted,  when  the 
Englishman,  with  characteristic  generosi^ 
drapes  it  with  his  own  character. 

llie  English  Parliament,  on  October  2,  1649, 
appointed  a  Thanksgiving  Day  for  the  triumph 
at  Drogheda,  and  put  upon  record — ^"That  the 
House  does  approve  of  the  execution  done  at 
Ufogheda,  as  an  act  both  of  justice  to  them 
(the  butchered  ones)  and  mercy  to  others  who 
may  be  warned  by  it." 

Carte  in  his  "Life  of  Ormond"  records  that  at 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

Drogheda,  the  offer  to  surrender,  and  request  for 
quarter,  had  been  made  before  the  final  assault 
and  massacre. 

The  holy  spirit  that  generally  moved  Britain 
in  this  war  is  exemplified  by  a  pamphlet  pub- 
lished in  London  at  the  height  of  the  civiliz- 
mg  demonstration  in  Ireland.  The  pam- 
phlet is  represented  as  being  published  "by  J.  D. 
and  R.  I.  at  the  sign  of  the  Bible  in  Popes  head 
Alley,  1647."  ^^  t^c  course  of  the  pamphlet  the 
writer  says,  "I  beg  upon  my  hands  and  knees 
that  the  expedition  against  them  (the  Irish)  be 
undertaken  while  the  hearts  and  hands  of  our 
soldiery  are  hot ;  to  whome,  I  will  be  bold  to  say, 
briefly:  happy  be  he  that  shall  reward  them  as 
they  served  us,  and  cursed  be  he  who  shall  do 
the  work  of  the  Lord  negligently.  Cursed  be  he 
who  holdeth  back  the  sword  from  blood:  yea 
cursed  be  he  that  maketh  not  the  sword  stark 
drunk  with  Irish  blood;  who  doth  not  recom- 
pense them  double  for  their  treachery  to  the  Eng- 
lish ;  but  maketh  them  in  he^ps  on  heaps,  and 
their  country  the  dwelling  place  of  dragons— 
an  astonishment  for  nations.  Let  not  that  eye 
look  for  pity,  nor  hand  be  spared,  that  pities  or 
spares  them ;  and  let  him  be  cursed  that  curseth 
ihcm  not  bitterly." 


AND  THEN  CAME  CROMWELL 

i 

A  truly  sweet  soul  was  the  Lord's  Anointed 
who  framed  this  delicate  flower  of  prayer. 

A  little  illustrative  incident  from  Carte's  Life 
of  Ormond  may  here  be  set  down  to  show  how 
the  "treacherous  Irish"  retaliated.  Carte  tells 
how  St.  Leger  when  marching  across  the  coun- 
try, "slaughtered  men,  women  and  children" — 
the  usual  thing — finally  murdered  one,  Philip 
Ryan,  whose  infuriated  relatives  retaliated  in 
kind  upon  several  of  the  British  settlers.  Carte 
says  "All  the  rest  of  the  English  were  saved  by  the 
inhabitants  of  that  place :  their  houses  and  goods 
safely  returned  to  them.  Dr.  Saml.  Pullen,  Prot- 
estant Chancellor  of  Cashel,  and  the  Dean  of 
Clonfert  with  his  wife  and  children,  were  pre- 
served by  Father  James  Saul,  a  Jesuit.  Several 
other  Romish  priests  distinguished  themselves 
by  their  endeavors  to  save  the  English.  The 
Engflish  thus  preserved  were,  according  to  their 
desires,  safely  conducted  to  the  County 
Cork,  by  a  guard  of  the  Irish  inhabitants  of 
Cashel.'* 

And  how  the  Catholics  retaliated  on  their 
persecutors  in  Ireland  in  the  century  before,  is 
witnessed  by  the  Protestant,  William  Parnell,  in 
his  "Historical  ^)ology"  (1807).  When  in  the 
reign  of  Mary,  the  Catholics  were  in  the  ascen- 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

dancy»  TThey  entertained  no  resentment  for  the 
past,"  Pamell  testifies:  "they  laid  no  plans  for 
future  domination.  Such  was  the  general  spirit 
of  toleration  that  many  English  families,  friends 
of  the  Reformation,  took  refuge  in  Ireland,  and 
there  enjoyed  their  opinions  and  worship  without 
molestation.*' 

So  much  for  the  Irish  brand  of  retaliation  as 
opposed  to  the  London  sample. 

Half  a  century  ere  Cromwell,  the  conquest  of 
Ireland  had  been  technically  completed.  The 
Cromwellian  Wars — like  many  other  wars  which 
continued  to  shake  the  Island — were  merely  civil- 
izing demonstrations. 

Cromwell  sent  twenty  thousand  Irish  boys 
and  girls  into  slavery  in  the  Virginian  Colonies 
and  the  West  Indies.  (On  one  or  two  of  the 
Islands  of  the  West  Indies,  up  to  nearly  a  cen- 
tury ago,  it  is  related,  the  negroes  still  spoke 
Gaelic.)  The  merchants  of  Bristol,  ever  enter- 
prising, and  prompt  to  profit  by  a  good  opening, 
did  a  brisk  business  in  Irish  slaves  then  and 
later  for  the  transatlantic  markets— -entering  into 
formal  legal  contracts  for  the  worthy  purpose. 

Prendergast  in  his  Cromwellian  Settlement  of 
Ireland  names  four  Bristol  merchants  who  were 
the  most  active  of  the  slave  trading  agents.  For 

4i 


AND  THEN  CAME  CROMWELL 

illustrating  the  formal  legal  way  in  which  the 
horror  was  commercialized  Prendergast  quotes 
"one  instance  out  of  many" — the  case  of  Captain 
John  Vernon,  who  as  agent  of  the  English  Com- 
missioners who  then  governed  Ireland,  con- 
tracted with  Messrs.  Sellick  and  Leader  of  Bris- 
tol "under  his  hand,  of  date  14th  September, 
^^53»"  to  supply  them  with  two  hundred  and 
fifty  women  of  the  Irish  nation  above  twelve  and 
under  forty-five  years  of  age.  Also  three  hun- 
dred men  between  twelve  years  and  forty-five 
years  of  age. 

On  the  troopers,  the  camp  followers,  the  Eng- 
lish friends,  and  London  financiers,  of  the  Crom- 
wellian  expedition — for  it  was  financed  by  spec- 
ulators in  legal,  regular  way — was  bestowed  all 
of  the  richest  of  the  lands  in  the  East  and  South. 
To  such  of  the  Irish  as  escaped  butchery  and 
slavery,  Cromwell  gave  the  choice  of  "Hell  or 
Connaught'* — Connaught  being  the  Western,  the 
wildest  and  most  barren  province  of  Ireland. 

After  the  Cromwellian  settlement  of  Ireland, 
the  official  records  (May,  1563)  state  "The  starv- 
ing multitude  are  feeding  on  carrion  and  weeds 
on  the  highways,  and  many  times  orphans  are 
found  exposed  and  some  of  them  fed  upon  by 

49 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

ravening  wolves,  and  other  birds  and  beasts   ol 
prey." 

Thirty  thousand  Irishmen  escaped  with  their 
lives  to  Europe — to  all  corners  of  which  they 
wandered — and  in  all  corners  of  which  they 
with  their  Irish  brilliancy,  soon  made  themselves 
famed.  One  historian  says,  "They  became  Chan- 
cellors of  Universities,  professors,  and  high  of- 
ficials in  every  European  state.  A  Kerryman  was 
physician  to  Sobieski,,  King  of  Poland,  A  Kerry- 
man  was  confessor  to  the  Queen  of  Portugal,  and 
was  sent  by  the  King  on  an  embassy  to  Louis 
the  Fourteenth.  A  Donegal  man  named 
O'Glacan  was  physician  and  Privy  Chancello' 
to  the  King  of  France,  and  a  very  famed  pre 
fessor  of  medicine  in  the  Universities  of  Tolouse 
and  Bologna." 

"There  wasn't  a  country  in  Europe  and  not 
an  occupation  where  Irishmen  were  not  in  the 
first  rank — as  Fieldmarshals,  Admirals,  Ambas- 
sadors, Prime  Ministers,  Scholars,  Physicians, 
Merchants,  Soldiers,  and  Founders  of  mining  in- 
dustry." 

Irish  scholars  and  soldiers,  the  Wild  Geese, 
continued  streaming  from  Ireland  to  the. Con- 
tinent over  more  than  one  hundred  years — and 
during  the  next  century  and  a  half  were  making 

50 


AND  THEN  CAME  CROMWELL 

their  mark  throughout  Europe.    Read  O'Callag- 
han's  History  of  the  Irish  Brigade  in  the  service 
of  France  for  much  that  is  absorbingly  interest 
ing. 

From  1690  to  1745  it  is  recorded  that  almost 
half  a  million  Irish  soldiers  died  for  France.  But 
before  they  died  they  wrote  their  name  and  Ire- 
land's name,  in  glory,  on  many  famous  battlefields 
— at  Steinkirk,  at  Landen,  at  Blenheim,  at  Spires, 
at  Fontenoy  the  Glorious  where  they  proved 
themselves  the  saviours  of  France,  and  on  a  score 
of  other  fields. 

"On  far  foreign  fields,  from  Dunkirk  to  Belgrade, 
Lie  the  soldiers  and  chiefs  of  the  Irish  Brigade." 

In  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  Naples 
had  an  Irish  regiment. 

There  were  five  Irish  regiments  with  Spain. 
At  Melazzo  in  Sicily,  the  Irish  tro<^s  tamed 
the  tide  of  war  when  the  Spaniards  were  sur- 
prised by  the  Germans — and  saved  the  Span- 
iards. 

The  Irish  Admiral,  Cammock,  who  was  the 
leading  man  in  the  Spanish  Government  in  the 
sixties  of  the  eighteenth  century,  had  been  an 
ambassador  to  London. 

51 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

Spain  had  noted  generals,  O'Mahoncy,  O'Don- 
nell,  O'Gara,  O'Reilly,  O'Neill. 

When  Cremona  was  surprised  by  Eugene  and 
the  Imperial  troops,  the  Irish,  tumbling  out  of 
bed  and  fighting  in  their  shirts,  recovered  the 
City. 

Lecky  says,  "The  Austrian  army  was  crowded 
with  Irish  officers  and  soldiers." 

The  noble  family  of  the  Taafles  of  Austria 
were  Irish — and  down  to  the  present  day  kept 
up  their  Irish  affiliations.  The  Duke  of  Tetuan, 
who  was  Spanish  Minister  of  War  during  the 
Spanish-American  War,  is  one  of  the  Donegal 
O'Donnells  who  have  been  for  centuries  in  Spain. 
He  still  maintains  his  affiliations  with  Donegal. 

Lally  of  the  Brigade  who  distinguished  him- 
self at  Fontenoy  and  elsewhere,  ambitioned  the 
conquest  of  India. 

Tyrconnel  was  French  ambassador  to  Berlin. 
Lacey  was  Spanish  ambassador  to  Stockholm. 
And  O'Mahoney  was  ambassador  to  Vienna.  In 
recent  days  Marshal  MacMahon  was  President 
of  France. 

The  Dillons  were  high  in  the  French  army. 
And  one  of  the  family  was  Bishop  of  Toulouse. 

One  of  the  foremost  Austrian  generals  during 
the  Seven  Years'  War  was  the  Irishman,  Browne. 


AND  THEN  CAME  CROMWELL 

Another  Browne,  cousin  to  General  Browne,  of 
Austria,  was  Fieldmarshal  in  the  Russian  ser- 
vice, and  became  Governor  of  Riga.  O'Brien  it 
was  who  founded  and  built  up  the  Russian  navy. 
Peter  Lacey  was  Russian  Field  Marshal  and  was 
the  chief  man  in  organizing  the  army  of  Peter 
the  Great. 

The  Laceys  achieved  great  fame,  in  Spain  and 
Austria,  as  well  as  in  Russia. 

While  Ireland  groaned  through  her  long  and- 
terrible  night  of  agony,  and  the  Irish  at  home 
were  as  the  wild  beasts,  Europe,  throughout  its 
length  and  breadth,  scintillated  with  the  bril- 
liancy of  the  brilliant  banished  children  of  Inis- 
fail,  and  their  children,  and  children's  children. 

These  had  escaped  the  blessings  of  English 
civilization. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
ENGLAND  FOSTERS  IRISH  INDUSTRIES 

It  was  not  only  about  Ireland's  morality  and 
politics  that  England  gravely  concerned  herself. 
Ireland's  industries,  trade  and  commerce,  needed 
serious  looking  after  by  the  protector. 

From  very  remote  days,  as  testified  both  by 
ancient  history  and  ancient  legend,  the  natives  of 
this  Island  adventured  much  upon  sea. 

In  the  early  centuries  of  the  Christian  Era 
the  highly  civilized  Celt  turned  to  trade  and  com- 
merce— ^probably  stimulated  thereto  by  the 
Phoenicians  who  carried  on  a  large  commercial 
intercourse  with  Ireland.  The  early  Irish  were 
famous,  for  their  excellence  in  the  arts  and  crafts 
— particularly  for  their  wonderfully  beautiful 
work  in  metals — in  bronze,  silver  and  gold.  A 
hundred  hills  and  bogs  in  Ireland  constantly 
yield  up  testimony  to  this — if  we  discarded  the 
testimony  of  history,  story  and  poem. 

By  the  beginning  of  the  Middle  Ages,  the  trade 
of  Ireland  with  the  Continent  of  Europe  was  im- 
portant— ^and  Irish  ships  seem  to  have  been  sail- 

54 


ENGLAND  FOSTERS  IRISH  INDUSTRIES 

ing  to  most  of  the  leading  ports  of  the  Con- 
tinent. Irish  merchants  were  well-known  in  the 
great  Continental  markets.  And  Irish  money 
commanded  universal  credit. 

This  condition  of  things  naturally  did  not  suit 
Ireland's  protector — her  commercial  rival — Eng- 
land. So  at  an  early  period  she  began  to  pro^ 
tect  Irish  industry — by  trying  to  keep  it  at  home. 
It'is  interesting  to  follow  for  a  century  or  two 
the  means  adopted  for  this  worthy  object. 

I^  1339  England  appointed  an  admiral  whose 
duty  was  to  stop  traffic  between  Ireland  and  the 
Continent.  He  must  have  been  but  indifferently 
successful ;  for,  a  little  more  than  a  century  later, 
Edward  the  Fourth  deplores  the  prosperity  of 
Ireland's  trade,  and  he  orders  (in  1465)  that  since 
the  fishing  vessels  from  the  Continent  helped 
out  the  traffic  with  Ireland,  these  vessels  should 
not  henceforth  fish  in  Irish  waters  without  an 
English  permit. 

And  since  even  this  did  not  stop  the  stubborn 
Irish,  in  1494  an  English  law  is  enacted  prohibit- 
ing the  Irish  from  exporting  any  industrial  pro- 
duct, except  with  English  permit,  and  through 
ar  English  port,  after  paying  English  fees. 

This  handicap,  too,  failed.  For,  we  find  Eng- 
lish merchants  in  1548,  unofficially  taking  a  hand 

55 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

at  trying  to  end  the  traffic — ^by  fitting  out 
armed  vessels  to  attack  and  plunder  the  trading 
ships  between  Ireland  and  the  Continent — com- 
mercialized piracy. 

But  official  piracy  had  to  be  fallen  back  upon. 
Still  twenty  years  later,  Elizabeth  ordered  the 
seizure  of  the  whole  Continental  commerce  of 
Munster — much  more  than  half  of  the  trade  of 
the  Island.  And  in  1571  she  ordered  that  no 
cloth  or  stuff  made  in  Ireland,  should  be  exported 
even  to  England,  except  by  an  Englishman  in 
Ireland,  or  by  a  merchant  approved  by  the  Gov- 
ernment. (Nearly  thirty  years  before,  her  res- 
pected, much  married  father,  Henry  of  blessed 
memory,  had  forbidden  Irish  cloths  to  be  ex- 
ported from  Galway). 

And  Irish  trade  was  attacked  from  yet  another 
angle.  At  the  same  time  that  the  altruistic  ad- 
miral was  appointed,  Irish  coinage,  was,  by  law, 
forbidden  to  be  received  in  England.  However, 
Irish  merchants  and  Irish  money  had  such  worthy 
repute  that  not  only  did  they  still  succeed  with 
it  on  the  Continent  but,  one  hundred  years  later, 
Irish  coinage  had  to  be  prohibited  again  in  Eng- 
land.   That  was  in  1447. 

In  1477,  after  imprisoning  some  Irish  mer- 
chants who  traded  with  Irish  money  in  England, 

56 


ENGLAND  FOSTERS  IRISH  INDUSTRIES 

Ireland's  protectors  adopted  a  radical  reform  by 
introducing  into  Ireland  an  English  coinage  de- 
based twenty-five  per  cent,  below  the  English 
standard — ^and  by  law  establishing  it  as  the  Irish 
currency. 

Yet  we  are  told  that  Irish  credit  on  the  Con- 
tinent was  so  good  that,  the  "illegal"  Irish  coin- 
age still  continued  to  pass  there.  And  the  Irish 
at  home,  with  their  usual  perversity,  seemed  to 
have  preferred  the  full  value  Irish  coinage  to  the 
three-quarter  value  English  coinage — for,  seventy 
years  later  (in  1549)  the  refusal  of  an  Irishman 
in  Ireland  to  accept  the  debased  English  coin- 
age at  its  face  value  was  decreed  an  act  of  trea- 
son. An  immediate  reason  for  this  act  was,  that 
the  English  soldiers  in  Ireland,  being  paid  with 
the  debased  brand  of  English  coinage,  found 
"nothing  doingf*  when  they  tendered  their  coin 
for  Irish  products. 

By  reason  of  the  big  Continental  trade  the 
shipping  industry  had  in  itself  become  an  impor- 
tant one  in  Ireland.  Hence  it  was  advisable  to 
extinguish  it.  So,  in  1663  the  law  prohibited  the 
use  of  all  foreign  going  ships  except  such  as  were 
built  in  England,  manned  by  Englishmen,  and 
sailing  from  English  ports. 

The  Navigatioii  Act  of  1637  had  already  pro* 

$7 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

vided  that  Irish  ships  must  clear  from  English 
ports  for  foreign  trade.  After  the  Act  of  1663 
was  passed,  it  was  found  that  Irish  merchants 
even  at  these  heavy  disadvantages,  had  begun  to 
develop  direct  trade  with  the  English  Colonies. 
So  this  was  stopped.  And  it  was  then  tried  to 
enact  that  no  boats  could  even  fish  upon  the 
Irish  shore  except  boats  built  and  manned  by 
Englishmen.  Anyhow  the  Irish  ship-building 
sore  was  healed — by  the  effective  method  of  re- 
moving it  altogether. 

The  foreigner  who  knows  not  the  way  of  Eng- 
land with  Ireland,  will  pause  to  ask  himself  if  all 
this  is  joke.  It  is  a  very  g^im  joke.  But  dear 
foreign  reader,  be  not  discouraged — there's  worse 
to  come.    Study  Ireland's  woolen  joke. 

The  manufacture  of  cloths,  more  especially 
woolens,  had  become  in  these  centuries,  a  great 
Irish  industry.  In  the  Continental  markets,  and 
even  in  the  British,  Irish  woolens  were  in  great 
demand.  Consequently  this  trade  should  be 
stopped.  Though,  as  usual,  it  took  a  long  time 
to  convince  the  pig-headed  people  who  inhabited 
Ireland  that  it  was  for  their  benefit  to  stop  it. 
The  good  work  was,  for  mother  England,  a 
tedious  and  thankless  task.  But  England  works 
not  for  thanks.    Her  work  is  altruistic  ev«r. 

58 


ENGLAND  FOSTERS  IRISH  INDUSTRIES 

In  1571,  Elizabeth  had  begun  the  useful  work 
by  discouraging  the  cloth  trade.  But  half  a  cen- 
tury later  the  good  Lord  Strafford,  then  Lord 
Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  is  begging  for  a  little  more 
discouragement.  In  1634,  he  writes  to  Charles 
the  First,  "That  all  wisdom  advises  to  keep  this 
(Irish)  Kingdom  as  much  subordinate  and  de- 
pendent on  England  as  possible;  and  holding 
them  from  the  manufacture  of  wool  (which  un- 
less otherwise  directed,  I  shall  by  all  means  dis- 
courage), and  then  enforcing  them  to  fetch  their 
cloth  from  thence,  how  can  they  depart  from  us 
without  nakedness  and  beggary?"  Dear  Mother 
England,  how  closely  Ireland  should  cling  to, 
and  how  dearly  Ireland  should  love  you  I 

But  it  was  not  until  1660  that  woolen  goods 
were,  by  law,  forbidden  to  be  exported  from  Ire- 
land to  England.  Then  the  Irish  thought  to  ex- 
port their  raw  wool.  This  must  be  discouraged. 
So,  in  1669,  Ireland  was  prohibited  from  export- 
ing her  wool  to  England. 

But  there  was  no  reason  why,  even  when  Irish 
wool  was  kept  at  home,  England  might  not 
make  direct  profit  out  of  it  there — arid  also  help 
her  own  merchants,  by  enabling  them  to  under- 
sell the  Irish,  in  their  own  Irish  markets.  So, 
later,  Ireland  was  asked  to  send  her  «h^^  to 

59 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

English  ports  for  shearing — and  for  official  fix- 
ing of  the  price  of  Irish  wool. 

This  was  good.  But  there  was  better  to  come. 
In  1673,  Sir  William  Temple  (by  request  of  Vice- 
roy Essex)  proposed  that  the  Irish  would  act 
wisely  in  giving  up  altogether  the  manufacture  of 
wool  (even  for  home  use),  because  "it  tended  to 
interfere  prejudicially  with  the  English  woolen 
tiade."  This  is  the  same  English  statesman  and 
Irish  protector  who  pointedly  and  pithily  put 
the  maxim  which  England  has  always  observed 
in  protecting  Ireland,  and  fostering  Irish  wel- 
fare— "Regard  must  be  had"  said  Sir  William 
Temple  "to  those  points  wherein  the  trade  of  Ire- 
land comes  to  interfere  with  that  of  England,  in 
v/hich  case  Irish  trade  ought  to  be  declined  so  as 
to  give  way  to  the  trade  of  England."  The  es- 
sence of  the  maxim,  though,  was  then  old.  Sir 
Humphrey  Gilbert  in  the  sixteenth  century  had 
said,  "The  trade  of  Ireland  with  Spain  must  be 
destroyed  and  secured  to  England." 

Now  Ireland  was  almost  completely  cured  of 
the  bad  habit  of  exporting  woolens  to  her  mas- 
ter's detriment.  Only,  a  little  trace  of  the  habit 
still  lingered.  While  the  British  Colonies  (by 
an  oversight)  had  been  left  open  to  her,  she  con- 
tinued exporting  to  them.    This  needed  attention. 


ENGLAND  FOSTERS  IRISH  INDUSTRIES 

Accordingly  in  1697  an  act  was  introduced  to  pro- 
hibit Ireland  from  sending  out  any  of  her  wool- 
en manufactures — to  any  place.  That  should 
finally  fix  her. 

But,  the  Old  England  conscience  yet  scrupled 
that  it  had  not  fully  done  its  duty  by  its  stepchild. 
For  though  Ireland  had  ceased  to  interfere  with 
the  English  market  throughout  the  rest  of  the 
world,  it  was  still  wilfully  making  and  wearing 
its  own  woolens — to  the  criminal  detriment  of 
English  trade  in  Ireland.  So,  in  1698  a  final  step 
was  taken.  On  June  9  of  that  year  both  of  the 
English  Houses  of  Parliament  addressed  King 
William  (of  Glorious,  Pious  and  Immortal  Me- 
mory) beseeching  him  to  chide  his  Irish  subjects 
for  that — in  the  language  of  the  House  of  Lords, 
"The  growth  of  the  woolen  manufactures  there 
hath  long  and  will  be  ever  looked  upon  with  great 
jealousy  by  all  your  subjects  of  this  kingdom, 
and  if  not  timely  remedied  may  occasion  very 
strict  laws  totally  to  prohibit  and  suppress  same." 
The  impending  punishment  for  continued  wil- 
fullness  on  the  part  of  the  naughty  Irish  child, 
was  going  to  give  the  noble  lords  more  pain  than 
it  would  the  child — ^which  was  being  punished  for 
its  own  good. 

And  the  Commons  in  the  course  of  their  ad- 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

dress  say,  "And  therefore  we  cannot  without 
trouble  observe  that  Ireland  which  is  dependent 
on,  and  protected  by,  England,  in  the  enjoyment 
of  all  they  have" — that  is  so  decidedly  good  that 
we  must  repeat  it — "that  Ireland  which  is  de- 
pendent on,  and  protected  by,  England  in  the 
enjoyment  of  all  they  have,  should  of  late  apply 
itself  to  the  woolen  manufacture,  to  the  great 
prejudice  of  the  trade  of  this  kingdom  .  .  . 
make  it  your  royal  care,  and  enjoin  all  those 
whom  you  employ  in  Ireland  to  make  it  their 
care,  and  use  their  utmost  diligence,  to  hinder  the 
export  of  wool  from  Ireland,  except  to  be  im- 
ported hither,  and  for  discouraging  the  woolen 
manufacture  of  Ireland."  And  in  token  of  their 
solicitude  for  the  country  which  was  "protected 
by  England  in  the  enjoyment  of  all  that  they 
have*'  they  suggested  that  Irishmen  should  turn 
to  making  hemp  and  linen — which  England  had 
little  means  of  making — and  which,  more  betoken, 
Ireland  then  had  less  means  of  making. 

King  William  answered  his  faithful  Lords  and 
Commons,  "I  shall  do  all  that  in  my  power  lies 
to  discourage  the  manufacture  of  woolens  in  Ire- 
land." And  the  King  was  this  time  as  good  as 
his  word  (despite  the  scandalous  slanders  of 
Limerick  men).    In  this  year  of  1698  he  signed 


ENGLAND  FOSTERS  IRISH  INDUSTRIES 

an  act  to  the  effect  that  because  these  manu- 
factures are  daily  increasing  in  Ireland  (disas- 
trous to  relate!),  the  exports  of  wool  and  woolen 
manufactured  articles  from  Ireland,  should  be 
forbidden  under  pain  of  forfeiture  of  the  goods, 
and  ships  that  carried  them,  and  five  hundred 
pounds  fine.  It  needs  an  Englishman's  sublimity 
of  mind  to  comprehend  the  enormity  ol  the  Irisn 
crime,  and  the  deep  degradation  of  Irish 
criminals,  which  permitted  the  manufactures  of 
their  country  "daily  to  increase" — to  such  a 
grievous  extent  that  their  protectors  had  to  step 
in  and  penalize  the  crime — and  root  it  out. 

It  is  worth  remembering  that  though  the  mere 
Irish  in  Ireland  were  the  workers,  earning  a  sub- 
sistence at  the  trade,  it  was  now  almost  entirely 
the  Anglo-Irish,  the  purely  British-blooded  peo- 
ple of  the  Island  who  were  the  manufacturers, 
the  traders,  the  capitalists.  They,  having  had 
the  misfortune  to  be  born  and  to  be  living  in  Ire- 
land, were  penalized  and  striven  to  be  crushed 
out  by  their  own  kin  in  the  holy  motherland  be- 
yond the  Irish  Sea.  That  they  richly  deserved, 
however,  to  be  throttled  and  kicked,  is  proven 
by  the  fact  that  they,  servile  creatures;,  acting  on 
tbt  behest  of  William  and  their  kin  beyond  the 
watpr,  did,  on  September,  1698,  actually  pass  in 

6j 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

their  own  House  of  Parliament  (from  which  the 
real  Irish  were  carefully  excluded)  an  act  laying 
prohibitory  duties  on  their  own  woolen  manufac- 
tures! In  this  connection  it  is  worth  comparing 
the  spinelessness  of  the  Anglo-Irish  in  1698  with 
the  spinefulness  of  their  cousins  in  America,  three 
quarters  of  a  century  later. 

Except  for  a  few  little  items  such  as  waddings 
which  were  overlooked  in  the  act  of  William  the 
Third — but  carefully  attended  to  by  his  succes- 
sors— the  great  Irish  woolen  manufacture  was 
now  extinguished  forever.  The  Irish  woolen 
comedy  was  ended. 

For  a  long  time  after  this  destruction  of  one 
of  the  country's  chief  supports,  the  economic 
conditions  in  Ireland  were  terrible.  Swift,  who 
had  stated  that  "since  Scripture  says  oppression 
makes  a  wise  man  mad,  therefore,  consequently 
speaking,  the  reason  that  some  men  in  Ireland 
are  not  mad  is  because  they  are  not  wise" — he, 
Swift,  thus  describes  the  condition  to  which  Ire- 
land was  brought,  by  the  suppression  of  the  wool- 
en trade — "The  old  and  sick  are  dying  and  rotting 
by  cold  and  famine,  and  filth  and  vermin.  The 
younger  laborers  cannot  get  work,  and  pine  away 
for  want  of  nourishment  to  such  a  degree  that 
if  at  any  time  they  are  accidently  hired  to  com- 


ENGLAND  FOSTERS  IRISH  INDUSTRIES 

mence  labor,  they  have  not  the  strength  to  per- 
form it." 

And  the  Protestant  Bishop  Nicholson  who  was 
transferred  to  Derry  from  Carlisle,  wrote  "Never 
even  in  Picardy,  Westphalia  or  Scotland,  did  I 
behold  such  marks  of  hunger  and  want  as  ap- 
peared in  the  countenances  of  most  of  the  poor 
creatures  met  with  on  the  road.  In  Donegal,  in 
bad  seasons,  the  cattle  are  bled  and  the  blood 
boiled  with  sorrel.'* 

Both  Irish  and  English  writers  of  this  period 
draw  fearful  pictures  of  Irish  suffering  and  Irish 
starvation,  resulting  from  the  abolition  of  her 
woolen  manufactures. 

But,  of  course,  they  had  hemp  and  linen  manu- 
factures to  fall  back  upon-^not  to  mention  cot- 
ton. So,  they  turned  their  attention  to  these. 
But  were  not  long  at  them  till  England  got  con- 
cerned that  they  were  in  danger  of  making  a  suc- 
cess of  them. 

So,  with  the  thoroughness  of  a  real  mistress,  she 
attended  to  this,  'I'wenty  five  per  cent,  duty  was 
first  put  upon  Irish  cotton  imported  into  Eng- 
land. And  then,  in  the  reign  of  George  the  First, 
the  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain  were  forbidden  to 
wear  any  cotton  other  than  of  British  manufac- 

6s 


IRELAND'S    CASE 

ture.    Which  ended  the  brief  cotton  comedy  in 
Ireland. 

As  for  the  linen,  it  began  receiving  England's 
attention  immediately  after  the  woolens  were 
disposed  of.  As  early  as  1705,  the  export  of  linen 
from  Ireland  to  the  British  Colonies  was  for- 
bidden— except  for  the  coarsest  kinds  of  undyed 
Imens.  Then  the  British  Parliament  put  duties 
and  prohibitions  upon  Irish  linen  manufacturers 
--and  at  the  same  time,  granted  bounties  to  Eng- 
lish and  Scotch  manufacturers — in  order  to  cure 
Irishmen  of  the  trade  for  promise  of  which  Ire- 
land had  permitted  herself  to  be  robbed  of  her 
woolen  manufacture. 

The  Irish  linens  being  excluded  from  England 
by  the  imposition  of  a  heavy  duty,  the  foreign 
Irish  linen  trade  was  soon  safely  ruined  also. 
But  English  attention  to  the  trade  followed  and 
sought  it  out  even  within  the  four  seas  of  Ire- 
land. When  Crommelin,  the  Hugenot,  who  had 
materially  helped  to  build  up  the  linen  trade  in 
Ulster,  tried  to  spread  the  manufacture  into  Lein- 
£trr,  we  are  told  that  the  fiercest  English  opposi- 
tion blazed  up. 

Edmund  Burke  challenged  the  English  Gov- 
ernment for  its  breach  of  faith  on  the  linen  prop- 
osition.   And  the  servile  Irish  (Anglo-Irish)  Par- 

66 


ENGLAND  FOSTERS  IRISH  INDUSTRIES 

liament  in  1774  addressed  Harwood,  the  Lord 
Lieutenant  on  the  subject  of  the  linen  ruin,  say- 
ing, "The  result  is  the  ruin  of  Ulster  and  the  flight 
of  the  Protestant  population  to  America."  So, 
it  was  the  ruin  of  the  linen  trade  under  Eng- 
land's "protecting  them  in  the  enjoyment  of  all 
they  have"  that  helped  to  give  to  America  her  so- 
called  Scotch-Irish  population. 

"Whoever,"  said  Swift,  "travels  in  this  land 
and  observes  the  face  of  nature,  and  contrasts  it 
with  the  faces  and  dwellings  of  the  natives, 
hardly  thinks  himself  in  a  land  where  law,  re- 
ligion, or  common  humanity  is  professed." 

The  linen  trade  was  now  well  in  hand.  So  let 
us  follow  up  another  Irish  comedy. 

From  an  early  period  the  Irish  had  a  large 
trade  in  the  export  of  cattle  to  England.  In  1665 
England  tried  to  stop  this  trade — and  finally  did 
stop  it  in  the  reign  of  Charles  the  Second,  when 
the  importation  of  Irish  cattle  into  England  was, 
by  an  act  of  Parliament,  voted  "a  common  nuis- 
ance"— and  forbidden. 

Carte  In  his  "Life  of  Ormond"  tells  of  the  dis- 
astrous effect  which  these  acts  had  upon  Ireland. 
He  says  that  horses  went  down  in  price  from 
thirty  shillings  to  one  shilling.  And  beeves  from 
fifty  shillings  to  tenpence. 

67 


IRELAND'S    CASE 

The  resourceful  Irish  then  began  killing  the 
cattle  at  home,  and  exporting  the  dead  meat. 
Their  equally  resourceful  protectors  immediately 
countered  with  a  law  forbidding  the  import  of 
beef  into  England.  And  to  leave  no  little  hole 
without  a  peg — they  added  pork  and  bacon  for 
good  measure. 

But  the  contrary  Irish  ferreted  out  a  hole  to 
get  through.  They  developed  dairying  and  began 
exporting  butter  and  cheese,  from  Ireland.  Their 
exasperated  protectors  had  to  go  to  the  trouble 
of  amending  the  prohibition  laws — adding  butter 
and  cheese  to  the  items  which  the  Irish  were  in- 
cited to  keep  at  home. 

Then  the  Irish  killed  their  cattle  and  horses 
for  their  hides,  and  began  what  soon  proved  to  be 
a  prosperous  trade  in  leather — which  was  in  de- 
mand not  only  in  England,  but  on  the  Continent 
of  Europe. 

Their  vigilant  English  masters,  however,  soon 
came  along  with  another  prohibition  bill,  which 
put  an  end  to  that  business.  Before  quitting 
the  cattle  drive,  however,  it  is  only  fair  to  say 
that  one  of  England's  most  representative  com- 
mercial writers  of  the  early  eighteenth  century, 
Davenaat,  pleaded  that  England  should  permit 

|58 


ENGLAND  FOSTERS  IRISH  INDUSTRIES 

Ireland  to  resume  the  cattle  trade — because  it 
would  hold  the  Irish  from  manufactures! 

Ireland  attempted  to  develop  her  tobacco  in- 
dustry. But  a  law  against  its  growth  was  passed 
in  the  reign  of  Charles  the  Second.  And  again, 
in  1831,  under  William  the  Fourth,  it  was  enacted 
that  any  person  found  in  possession  of  Irish- 
grown  tobacco,  should  suffer  a  heavy  penalty.  So 
the  tobacco  trade  was  tenderly  shown  out. 

Ireland,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  began  not  only  making  her  own  glass, 
but  also  making  glass  for  export.  In  the  reign 
of  George  the  Second,  the  Irish,  by  law,  were 
forbidden  to  export  glass,  and  also  forbidden  to 
import  any  glass  other  than  that  of  English  man- 
ufacture. So  the  glass  industry  was  protected 
to  extinction. 

Four  and  five  centuries  ago  and  upward,  the 
Irish  fisheries  were  the  second  in  importance  in 
Europe.  Under  careful  English  nursing  they 
were,  a  century  and  a  half  ago,  brought  to  the 
vanishing  point.  But  the  independent  Irish  Par- 
liament at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century 
saved  them.  It  subsidized  and  revived  the  Irish 
fisheries — till  they  were  rivalling  the  British.  A 
few  years  after  the  Union,  in  18 19,  England  with- 
drew the  subsidy  from  the  Irish  fisheries — at  the 


« 


IRELAND'S     CASE 

same  time  confirming  and  augmenting  the  sub 
sidles  and  grants  to  the  British  fishermen — with 
the  result  that,  notwithstanding  Ireland's  pos- 
session of  the  longest  coastline  of  almost  any 
European  country,  it  is  now  possessed  of  the  most 
miserable  fisheries. 

Where  150,000  Irish  fishermen  in  27,000  Irish 
boats  worked  and  thrived  at  the  time  that  the 
English  Parliament  took  away  the  subsidy  in 
1819,  only  20,000  Irish  people  get  a  wretched 
support  from  Irish  fisheries  today.  The  Brit- 
ish fisheries,  three  or  four  centuries  ago,  about 
equalled  the  Irish.  The  fisheries  of  Britain 
today  are  valued  at  9,000,000  pounds  annually. 
The  fisheries  of  Ireland  are  worth  300,000  pounds. 
The  Irish  fish  were  with  typical  British  solicitude, 
protected  into  the  British  net. 

I  have  referred  only  to  the  leading  Acts  and 
devices  for  the  suppression  of  Irish  manufactures 
and  Irish  industries.  What  I  have  set  down, 
however,  is  sufficient  to  show  how  England  "pro- 
tected her  beloved  Irish  subjects  in  the  enjoyment 
of  all  they  have" — how  Ireland  prospered  under 
English  Rule  in  a  material  way — and  how  Eng- 
land in  her  own  kind  way,  took  each  little  todd- 
Hng  Irish  industry  by  the  hand,  led  its  childish 
footsteps  to  the  brink  of  the  bottomless  pit,  and 

70 


ENGLAND  FOSTERS  IRISH  INDUSTRIES 

gave  it  a  push — thus  ending  its  troubles  forever. 

Finally,  the  whole  history  of  England's  fos- 
tering of  Irish  industries  may  be  shown  in  one 
illuminative  sentence — When  England,  several 
centuries  ago,  began  the  work  of  fostering  Irish 
trade  and  industry,  the  commerce  of  Ireland  was 
about  equal  to  the  commerce  of  Britain;  in  1912, 
after  several  centuries  assiduous  English  moth- 
ering of  Irish  industries,  statistics  showed  that 
of  the  commerce  of  the  foreign  three  kingdoms 
1.2  per  cent,  was  in  Irish  hands,  98.8  per  cent,  was 
in  the  hands  of  Britain  I 

The  reader  who  would  like  to  have  at  his  finger 
ends  the  whole  history  of  Irish  trade  progress 
under  mother  England  may  burn  and  forget  all 
the  rest  of  this  chapter  if  he  only  remember 
those  few  eloquent  figures. 

Even  the  bitter,  anti-Irish  Froude,  in  his  "Eng- 
lish in  Ireland/'  is  constrained  to  confess,  "Eng- 
land governed  Ireland  for  what  she  deemed  her 
own  interest,  making  her  calculations  on  the 
gross  balance  of  her  trade  ledgers,  and  leaving 
her  moral  obligations  aside,  as  if  right  and  wrong 
had  been  blotted  out  of  the  statute  book  of  the 
Universe.*' 

Edmund  Burke,  asked,  "Is  Ireland  united  to 
the  crown  of  Great  Britain  for  no  purpose  other 

71 


^ ,      .    irela:np's   ga3^     ,     : ,:. 

than  to  counteract  the  bounties  of  Providence? 
And  in  proportion  as  that  bounty  is  generous  that 
we  should  regard  it  as  an  evil  which  is  to  be  dealt 
with  by  every  sort  of  corrective  ?" 

Says  Lecky,  "It  would  be  difficult  in  the  whole 
range  of  history  to  find  another  instance  in  which 
such  various  and  powerful  agencies  agreed  to 
degrade  the  character,  and  blast  the  prosperity 
of  a  nation." 

And  here  endeth  what  will  be  considered  by 
those  who  know  not  England's  way  with  Ireland 
a  wonderful  chapter  of  Irish  history — but  quite 
common-place  to  those  who  have  a  bowing  ac- 
quaintance with  Irish  history. 


IP 


CHAPTER  V. 
THE  PENAL  LAWS 

But  these  Irish  knaves,  barbarous  and  per- 
verse, were  not  yet  domesticated  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  the  exacting  Briton. 

A  less  persevering  people  than  the  English, 
less  zealous  in  the  service  of  God,  might  have 
given  up  these  unregenerate  heathens,  in  despair. 
But  in  doing  his  duty  to  God  and  man,  nothing 
on  earth  or  under  the  earth  will  deter  the  Briton. 

Since  fire  and  sword  failed  to  carry  civilization 
home  to  the  Irish  savages,  something  newer  and 
more  effective  must  bei  tried. 

So  the  Penal  Laws  were  invented. 

The  great  French  jurist,  Montesqueiu,  says  of 
the  IrisB  Penal  Laws:  "This  horrible  code  was 
conceived  by  devils,  written  in  human  blood,  and 
registered  in  hell." 

Under  the  Penal  Laws  a  Catholic  (in  Ireland 
synonymous  with  Irishman)  was  deprived  of  all 
rights  of  citizenship. 

He  was  forbidden  to  vote. 

He  was  forbidden  to  keep  any  arms  for  his 
piotection. 

73 


IRELAND'S    CASE 

He  was  forbidden  to  enter  any  profession. 

He  was  forbidden  to  hold  public  office. 

He  was  forbidden  to  engage  in  trade  or  com- 
merce. 

He  was  forbidden  to  take  a  mortgage  in  security 
for  a  loan. 

He  was  forbidden  to  live  in  a  walled  town — 
or  within  five  miles  of  a  walled  town.  (The  Eng- 
lish and  Scotch  settlers  owned  and  occupied  the 
towns  and  carried  on  the  trade  and  commerce 
there.  The  Irishman  was  graciously  permitted 
to  conle  into  the  town  during  daylight — but  had 
to  depart  for  his  own  wilds  before  sunset — under 
risk  of  being  shot  at  sight  for  transgressing  this 
law.  Even  after  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century  it  was  the  boast  of  such  cities  as  Ban- 
don  in  the  South,  and  Derry  in  the  North,  that 
no  Catholic  was  tolerated  within  their  walls. 
And  when  John  Wesley  visited  Enniskillen  after 
the  middle  of  the  century,  he  found  that  city 
boasting  of  the  same  proud  distinction). 

If  any  child  of  any  Irish  father  adopted  the 
English  religion,  that  child  could  defy  his  father, 
become  thereby  his  father's  landlord,  make  his 
father  support  him  in  ease,  and  must  inherit  all 
ot  his  father's  estate. 

If  a  man's  wife  chose  to  turn  Protestant,  the 

7^ 


THE  PENAL  LAWS 

Lord  Chancellor  provided  for  the  wife,  accord- 
ing to  his  pleasure  from  the  property  of  her  hus- 
band— and  she  became  thereby  the  sole  heir  of 
all  of  her  husband's  property. 

No  Catholic  could  inherit  the  land  of  a  Protes- 
tant. 

It  was  illegal  for  a  Catholic  to  purchase  any 
land.  He  could  not  inherit  any  land  [by  will.  No 
Catholic  could  receive  an  annuity. 

No  Catholic  could  own  a  horse  of  greater  val- 
ue than  five  pounds.  If  he  found  himself  in  pos- 
session of  such  an  animal,  the  law  compelled 
him,  under  severe  penalty,  to  proceed  at  once  to 
the  nearest  Protestant  and  inform  on  himself. 

Catholics  could  only  dwell  on  forfeited  estates 
as  laborers  or  cottiers. 

It  was  illegal  for  a  Catholic  to  hold  any  land 
valued  for  more  than  thirty  shillings  a  year. 

If,  on  his  miserable  patch  of  holding,  a  Catho- 
lic's profits  exceeded  one-third  of  his  rent,  all  his 
land  would,  by  law,  go  to  the  Protestant  who  dis- 
covered on  him. 

Lecky  says:  "All  real  enterprise  and  industry 
among  Catholic  tenants  were  destroyed  by  laws 
which  consigned  them  to  utter  ignorance,  and  still 
mare  by  the  law  which  placed  strict  bounds  to 
progress  by  providing  that  if  their  profits  ever 

75 


IREIIAND'S    CASE 

exceeded  one-third  of  their  rent  the  first  Protes- 
tant who  could  prove  that  fact  could  take  their 
farm." 

As  decent  Protestants  revolted  at  becoming  in- 
formers it  was  enacted  (by  the  Anglo-Irish  Par- 
liament in  1705)  "That  the  persecuting  of,  and 
informing  against,  papists,  is  an  honorable  serv- 
ice." (The  renowned  quality  of  English  humor 
charmingly  exemplified  by  making  dishonor 
honor,  by  Act  of  Parliament!) 

A  Catholic  father  could  not  be  guardian  to,  or 
have  the  tuition  or  custody  of  his  own  children, 
if  they  chose  to  turn  Protestant. 

A  Catholic  was  forbidden  to  educate  his  child. 
And  he  was  forbidden  to  exercise  his  religion. 

If  he  sent  his  child  abroad  to  be  educated,  all  his 
property  was  thereby  forfeited,  and  he  himself 
outlawed. 

If  by  money  help,  or  other  help,  he  aided  in 
sending  the  child  of  another  abroad  to  be  edu- 
cated, his  property  was  confiscated  and  he  him- 
self outlawed. 

If  any  child  went  abroad  to  be  educated,  the 
child's  property,  if  it  had  any,  or  any  property 
that  it  might  ever  after  own,  was  thereby  confis- 
cated— and  the  child  was  then  and  thenceforth 
placed  outside  all  privileges  of  law. 


THE  PENAL  LAWS 

A  Penal  Law  passed  as  early  as  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth,  and  re-enacted  as  late  as  the  reign  of 
Anne,  commanded  all  Irish  people  under  penalty 
of  fine  or  imprisonment  to  attend  Protestant 
worship. 

Under  the  same  law  the  leading  Catholics  in 
each  town  or  district  were  appointed  to  see,  and 
held  responsible  for,  all  of  their  fellow  Catholics 
strictly  observing  the  foregoing.  They  were  to 
be  the  queen's  bailiffs  in  bringing  their  heathen 
fellows  to  hear  the  truth — and  the  queen's'  in- 
formers upon  all  of  their  fellows  who  should  turn 
a  deaf  ear  to  the  truth. 

Both  schoolmaster  and  priest  were  banned  by 
law.  Both  of  them  hunted  in  the  hills — tracked 
by  blood  hounds— and  by  human  hounds  infin- 
itely more  beastly. 

There  was  a  price  upon  the  head  of  the  school- 
master and  of  the  priest — the  same  as  on  the 
head  of  a  wolf.  Though,  frequently  they  were 
rated  higher  than  th^  other  pest.  For  instance, 
en  June  lo,  1567,  Burton's  Parliamentary  Diary 
records  the  words  of  Major  Morgan,  M.  P.  for 
Wicklow — who  was  protesting  in  Parliament 
against  striking  more  taxes  on  Ireland — ^"We 
have  three  beasts  to  destroy  that  lay  burdens 
upon  us;  the  first  is  a  wolf  upon  whom  we  lay 

77 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

five  pounds ;  the  second  beast  is  a  priest  on  whom 
we  lay  ten  pounds — if  he  be  eminent,  more;  the 
third  beast  is  a  Tory  on  whom  we  lay  twenty 
pounds." 

For,  the  price  of  priests  fluctuated.  Like  every 
other  commodity  on  the  English  market,  it  had, 
of  course,  to  be  governed  by  the  law  of  supply 
and  demand.  And  like  most  bad  weeds  the  more 
the  priest  was  rooted  out  the  thicker  he  seemed 
to  spring  up  again.  When  he  was  plentiful — 
which  was  usually  the  case — the  most  that  an 
honest,  hard-working  man  could  get  for  a  priest 
was  five  pounds — at  which  the  quotation  usually 
stood. 

Aga'n,  even  "vvhen  priests  were  few,  but  that 
the  priest-hunting  profession  was  over-crowded, 
prices  slumped.  After  the  Cromwellian  Settle- 
ment, for  instance,  although  priests  were  then 
scarce,  prices  touched  rock-bottom — because 
every  man  of  the  settlers  was  trying,  through 
priest-hunting,  to  make  a  little  ready  money  on 
the  side.  Here  are  a  few  sample  disbursement 
items  from  the  Government  recordt  of  1657: 

"Five  pounds  to  Thomas  Gregson,  Evan  Pow- 
ell, and  Samuel  Alley,  to  be  equally  divided  up- 
on them,  for  arresting  a  Popish  priest,  Donogh 
Hagerty,  taken  and  now  secured  in  the  County 

78 


THE  PENAL  LAWS 

jail  at  Qonmel."  For,  neighboring  British  set- 
tlers often  formed  a  co-partnership  in  the  good 
work,  and  divided  their  earnings,  share  and  share 
alike 

An  enterprising  man,  however,  such  as  an  ex- 
soldier  sometimes  employed  hired  help  for  priest- 
hunting,  and,  paying  them  by  the  day's  work, 
thus  reaped  larger  profits  for  himself.  For  in- 
stance "To  Lieutenant  Edwin  Wood,  twenty- 
five  pounds  for  five  priests  and  three  frairs  ap- 
prehended by  him — namely  Thomas  McGeogha- 
gan,  5^urlough  MacGowan,  Hugh  Goan,  Terence 
Fitzsimmons,  and  another — who  on  examination 
confessed  themselves  to  be  priests  and  friars." 
It  must  not  be  misunderstood  that  the  generous 
Lieutenant  threw  in  three  friars  for  good  measure, 
gratis  to  the  Government.  There  was  only  a 
total  of  five  head  in  the  round-up,  all  of  them 
priests,  but  three  of  them  belonging  to  the  orders. 

"To  Humphrey  Gibbs  and  to  Corporal  Thomas 
Hill  ten  pounds  for  apprehending  two  Popish 
priests,  namely  Maurice  Prendergast  and  Ed- 
ward Fahy.*'  The  ex-soldiers  with  their  greater 
keeness  and  very  fine  training  were  usually  able 
to  skin  the  field — to  the  disgust  of  the  civilians. 

"To  Arthur  Spollen,  Robert  Pierce,  and  John 
Bruen,  five  pounds  for  their  good  service  pcr- 

79 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

formed  in  apprehending  and  bringing  before  the 
Right  Hon.  Lord  Chief  Justice  Pepys  on  the 
2 1  St  January  last,  one  Popish  priest,  Edwin 
Duhy."  Only  five  pounds  between  three  saints! 
The  civilians  it  will  be  observed  were  only  pikers 
at  the  work. 

Maybe  it  was  as  well.  For  then,  as  now,  too 
great  commercial  success,  led  these  Captains  of 
industry  to  ultimate  ruin.  Exempli  gratia,  Mr. 
Terrell.  The  Dublin  Intelligencer  of  May  23, 
1 71 3  records  the  sad  news — ^''This  day  Terrell 
the  famous  priest-catcher,  who  was  condemned 
this  term  of  Assize  for  having  several  wives,  was 
executed."  The  poor  fellow  could  no  more  with- 
stand success  than  a  Pittsburgh  millionaire. 

Under  Elizabeth  it  was  enacted  that  every 
Romish  priest  found  in  Ireland  after  a  certain 
date  should  be  deemed  guilty  of  rebellion,  that 
he  should  "be  hanged  till  dead  then  his  head 
taken  off,  his  bowels  taken  out  and  burned,  and 
his  head  fixed  on  a  pole  in  some  public  place." 

And  the  same  act  of  Elizabeth  provided  that 
any  one  who  harboured  a  priest  should  have  all 
his  goods  confiscated  and  should  die  upon  the 
gallows. 

The  Puritans  whose  renowned  struggle  for 
liberty  o{  cxkn&cience   (their     conscience),     ttiU 

80 


THE  PENAL  LAWS 

makes  th«  wbrld  ring — the  Puritans,  in  their  con- 
suming zeal  for  liberty  of  conscience,  re-enacted 
in  Ireland  this  law  of  Elizabeth— with  improve- 
ments. They  provided  that  not  only  any  man 
who  harboured  a  priest,  but  any  man  who  knew 
where  a  priest  was  hidden,  and  did  not  huriy  the 
information  to  the  authorities,  should  be  punished 
with  death.  And  furthermore  they  enacted  that 
evcin  the  private  exercise  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Religion  in  Ireland  should  be  punished  by  death. 

Schoolmaster  hunting,  and  priest  hunting,  in 
those  days  became  a  very  profitable  pursuit,  and 
mjyoy  enterprising  Englishmen  emigrated  to  Ire- 
land to  enter  the  remunerative  profession.  Even 
Portuguese  Jews  came  over  to  push  their  fortune 
at  the  sport. 

The  Protestant  t)r.  Taylor  says  "During  the 
latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  and  the  beginning 
of  the  eighteenth  century  priest  hunting  had  be- 
come a  favorite  field  sport."  , 

Unlike  most  other  field  sports  however,  the 
end  of  the  field  day  did  not  end  the  enjoyment. 
After  the  criminal  Was  taken — if  he  was  taken 
alive — the  fun  entered  a  new  phase.  For  the 
prolongation  of  the  enjoyment  of  the  English 
sportsmen  a  ^trial"  was  often  staged  and  regular 
sentence  gravely  pronounced  and  its  execution 

Si 


IRELANiyS  CASE 

carried  out  with  as  much  orderliness  as  an  Ala- 
bama lynching-bee. 

A  fair  sample  of  the  proceedings  of  the  time 
is  afforded  by  the  case  of  Oliver  Plunkett  the 
meek  and  saintly  Archbishop  of  Armagh  whose 
execution  furnished  an  English  holiday  in  1680. 
The  Protestant  Bishop  Burnett  says  of  his  case, 
"The  witnesses  were  brutal  and  profligate 
men."  He  was  charged  with  the  crime  of  trying 
to  establish  the  Catholic  religion  in  Ireland.  The 
Lx)rd  Chief  Justice  pronounced  sentence  "And 
therefore  you  must  go  hence  to  the  place  from 
whence  you  came,  that  is,  to  Newgate,  and  from 
thence  you  shall  be  drawn  through  the  city  of 
London  to  Tyburn;  there  you  shall  be  hanged 
by  the  neck,  but  cut  down  before  you  are  dead, 
your  bowels  shall  be  taken  out  and  burnt  before 
your  face,  your  head  shall  be  cut  off,  and  your 
body  divided  into  four  quarters,  to  be  disposed 
of  as  His  Majesty  pleases.  And  I  pray  God 
to  have  mercy  on  your  soul." 

Another  historian  describing  the  end  of  this 
base  criminal  says,  **His  speech  ende^d  and  the 
cap  drawn  over  his  eyes,  Oliver  Plunkett  again 
recommended  his  happy  soul,  with  raptures  of 
devotion  into  the  hands  of  Jesus,  his  Saviour,  for 
whose  sake  he  died — ^till  the  cart  was  drawn  from 

83 


THE  PENAL  LAWS 

under  him.  Thus  then  he  hung  betwixt  Heaven 
and  earth,  an  open  sacrifice  to  God  for  innocence 
and  religion;  and  as  soon  as  he  expired  the  exe- 
cutioner ripped  his  body  open  and  pulled  out  his 
heart  and  bowels,  and  threw  them  in  the  fire, 
already  kindled  near  the  gallows  for  that  pur- 
pose." And  so  perished  one  "surpliced  ruffian" 
ot  Ireland — to  the  glory  of  England  and  God. 

The  Scottish  Protestant,  Dr.  Smiles,  (the  fa- 
mous "Self-Help"  Man,)  in  his  History  of  Ire- 
land, says  "The  Catholic  Irishman  was  d^^raded 
into  a  mere  serf  and  bondsman  of  the  soil — from 
all  proprietorship  in  which  he  was  debarred. 
His  property  (if  he  had  any),  might  now  be 
seiaed  by  his  Protestant  neighbors;  the  child 
might  plunder  the  father ;  the  wife,  the  husband ; 
the  servant,  the  master.  The  nation  lay  at  the 
mercy  of  the  vilest  kind  of  discoverers  and  in- 
formers. The  history  of  that  time  is  the  most 
eloquent  in  the  history  of  Ireland — eloquent  of 
suffering  and  endurance  under  the  deadliest 
wrongs.*' 

We  will  pause  in  our  picturing  of  the  English 
crime  in  Ireland — ^to  consider  a  thought  that  may 
naturally  arise  in  many  minds. 

"Might  not  the  Irish  themselves,  if  they  had 

83 


IRELANiyS  CASE 

had  the  power,  have  persecuted  their  enemies 
after  the  same  fashiom?*' 

I  confess  it  would  be  natural  to  expect  that  the 
Irish,  comings  into  power,  should  have  oppressed, 
persecuted  and  massacred  those  who  had  plun- 
ered  them  of  their  patrrmony,  made  their  land 
flow  with  blood,  and  forced  them,  the  natives  of 
this  land,  into  the  direst  bondage. 

It  would  be  only  natural  to  expect  this.  But 
let  us  study  an  actual  instance  of  what  did  occur. 
And  after  that  we'll  glance  at  an  instance  of  the 
opposite  kind. 

When  James  II.  came  to  Ireland  in  1689  and 
rallied  around  him  the  often-befooled  Irish  peo- 
ple—an4  that  the  Irish  were,  for  once,  in  comp^ete 
control  again  of  their  own  country,  an  Irish  Par- 
liament met  in  Dublin  on  May  7,  1689. 

This  was  a  Catholic  Irish  Parliament,  repre- 
senting^ a  Catholic  Irish  country.  The  members 
of  it  were  men  called  together  in  the  fre|izy\of 
Civil  War—^men  too,  everyone  of  whom  wos 
smarting  from  memory  of  the  vilest  wrongs  trer 
wrought  by  conqueror  on  conquered.  Lecky 
sa|W  ofithe  members  ol  the  House  of  Commons: 
'*Th«y  were  almost  all  new  men  animated  by 
resentment  of  bitterest  wroags,**— men*  tnostl  of 
whomtliAdi  biMP  robbed  Of  their  father's  estates. 

84 


THE  PENAL  LAWS 

Yet  though  these  men  burned  with  holy  indigna- 
tion for  the  persecutions  that  tbey  and  their  lan4 
and  their  people  had  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the 
plunderer  and  the  murderer— and  though  in  this 
their  hour  of  triumph  they  held  the  power  of  life 
and  death  over  their  wrongers,  Lecky  confesses, 
with  evident  astonishment,  "They  established 
freedom  of  religion  in  a  moment  of  excitement 
and  passion.'* 

By  this  Parliament  it  was  enacted  "We  hereby 
declare  that  it  is  the  law  of  this  land  that  not 
now,  or  ever  again,  shall  any  man  be  persecuted 
for  his  religion." 

Four  Protestant  Bishops  sat  in  the  Upper 
House.  No  Catholic  Bishop  was  called  to  sit 
there.  Fifteen  outlawed  Catholic  peers  were  re- 
called, but  only  five  new  peers  were  made.  Six 
Protestant  members  sat  in  the  Lower  House- 
most  of  the  rest  of  the  Protestant  members  hay- 
ing espoused  the  cause  of  William,  or  fled  to 
England.  ,         .,    ^^       ,^ 

They  established  free  schools. 

Where  Catholic  Ireland  had  before  been  com- 
pelled to  support  the  Protestant  Church,  this 
Parliapient  enacted  that  Catholics  shot^ld  pay 
dues  to  Catholic  pastors,  and  Protestant*  vhould 
pay  dues  to  Protestant  pastors. 


IREEAND'S  CASE 

The  Catholic  Bishop  Moloney  in  writing  to  the 
Parliament  went  so  far  as  to  recommend  that 
compensation  should  be  provided  for  all  Pro- 
testant Church  beneficiaries  who,  under  the  for- 
eigner's regime,  had  been  paid  by  the  state. 

And  thus  did  these  Irish  Catholics,  in  thei 
brief  moment  of  triumph,  to  the  usurpers  who 
had  persecuted  and  plundered  them  till  as  one 
Protestant  historian  confesses,  "Protestantism 
came  to  be  associated  in  the  native  mind  with 
spoliation,  confiscation,  and  massacre." 

Lecky  admits  that  under  this  Irish  Catholic 
Parliament  **The  Protestant  clergy  were  guar- 
anteed full  liberty  of  professing,  preaching,  and 
teaching  their  religion.** 

And  now  let  us  glance  at  a  contrasting  picture. 

A  little  more  than  two  years  after  the  sitting 
and  legislating  of  the  Irish  Catholic  Parliament, 
the  British  once  more  got  the  upper  hand — by 
agreement.  In  the  Williamite  War  that  ensued, 
the  Williamites  won  all  before  them — ^till  they 
came  to  Limerick,  After  two  long  sieges  they 
could  not  defeat  the  Irish  there.  Accordingly 
they  ended  the  war  by  the  celebrated  Treaty  of 
Limerick.  Under  this  treaty,  to  which  the  faith 
and  honor  of  the  English  crown  were  pledged, 
liic  Irish  people  were  promised  in  their  own  coun- 

86 


THE  PENAL  LAWS 

try  equal  protection  with  the  British  usurper 
there,  for  their  properties  and  thfcir  liberties — 
and  in  particular  they  were  to  enjoy  the  free  and 
unfettered  exercise  of  their  religion. 

On  these  conditions,  and  in  their  innocence 
thinking  that  the  pledged  faith  and  honor  of  the 
English  crown  was  an  inviolable  guarantee,  the 
Irish  laid  down  their  arms  and  ended  the  war. 

What  followed? 

As  it  has  been  often,  and  well  put,  the  celc- 
brate4  Treaty  of  Limerick  was  broken  before 
the  inik  on  the  document  was  dry. 

When  the  Lords  Justices,  returning  from  the 
treaty  signing,  attended  service  in  Christ  Church 
Cathedral,  Dr.  Dopping,  Lord  Bishop  of  Meath 
opened  the  ball  by  preaching  a  furious  sermon 
upon  the  sin  of  keeping  faith  with  papists.  All 
over  the  country  the  persecution  and  plundering 
of  the  papist  began  again,  and  was  soon  in  full 
swing.  A  million  acres  of  papists'  lands  were  con- 
fiscated. The  British  settlers  in  Ireland  began 
bombarding  Parliament  with  petitions  against  the 
Irish  papists.  If  these  people  got  their  liberties 
it  was  shown  that  Ireland  would  be  no  place  for 
decent  British  people.  For  instance,  the  Mayor 
and  the  Aldermen  of  Limerick,  in  their  petition 
to  Parliament,  protested  that  they  were  "greatly 


BKELANiyS  CASE 

damaged  in  their  trade  (  with  the  honest  British 
residents)  by  the  large  number  of  papists  residing 
here;.**  Just  as  every  good  American  knows  how 
any  American  quarter  is  cheapened  and  ruined 
by  riegproes  migrating  into  it,  so  Irish  towns  were 
ruined  by  the  mere  Irish  being  allowed  to  crawl 
in. 

Even  the  Protestant  coal  porters  of  Dublin  pre- 
sented in  Parliament  "the  petition  of  one  Edward 
Si>ragg  and  others'*  in  which  the  petitioners  hum- 
bly show  that  Darby  Ryan,  a  papist,  is  employ- 
ing porters  of  his  own  religion ! 

Just  imagine— if  you  can — the  impudence  of  the 
diabolical  Darby,  an  Irish  papist  living  in  a  pap- 
ist Ireland  under  the  solemn  pledge  of  the  English 
crown's  faith  and  honor  that  he  should  enjoy 
equal  liberties  with  the  foreigner — ^imagine  this 
scoundrel  perpetrating  the  outrage  of  giving  his 
fellow  papists^  work  to  do!  The  astounding  impu- 
dence of  the  impudent  fellow  surpassed  the  com- 
prehension of  evGry  noble-minded  Briton ! 

Only  three  years  after  the  faith  and  honor  of  the 
British  crown  had  been  pledged  to  the  papists, 
the  Parliament  passed  its  Act  for  the  Better  Se- 
curing of  the  Government  against  Papists. 

No  Ca*hoIfe  couM  henceforth  have  "gwi,  pi«tol 
or  sword^  or  any  other  weapon  of  offense  or  de* 


THE  PENAL  LAWS 

f<inse,  tittder  penalty  of  iine,  imprisonment,  pillory 
or  public  whipfrtng."  It  was  provided  that  any 
magistrate  could  visit  the  house  of  any  of  the 
Irish,  at  any  hour  of  the  night  or  day,  and  ransack 
it  for  concealed  weapons.  John  Mitchel  says 
"It  fared  ill  with  any  Catholic  who  fell  under  the 
displeasure  of  his  formidable  neighbors."  He  says 
no  papist  was  safe  from  suspicion  who  had  money 
to  pay  fines — but  woe  to  the  papist  who  had  a 
handsome  daughter! 

Under  the  pledged  faith  and  honor  of  the  Brit- 
ish crown,  which  promised  to  secure  the  Irish 
from  any  disturbance  on  account  of  their  religion, 
it  was  now  enacted  that  '*A11  Popish  Archbishops, 
Bishops,  Vicars-General,  Deans,  Jesuits,  monks, 
friars,  and  all  other  regular  Popish  clergy  shall 
depart  out  of  this  kingdom  before  the  first  day  of 
May,  1698" — under  penalty  of  transportation  for 
life  if  they  failed  to  comply — and  under  penalty 
to  those  who  should  dare  to  return,  of  being 
hanged,  drawn  and  quartered. 

And  by  such  liberality  and  generosity  on  the 
part  of  the  British  was  the  Irish  nation  repaid  for 
the  generosity  it  had  shown  them  in  its  hour  of 
triumph. 

And  to  our  foolish  trusting  Irish  people  thus 
was  exemplified  for  tht  ninety  and  ninth  time,  the 

S9 


IRELAND'S  CASK 

folly  of  relying  on  a  "solemn  treaty"  of  Britain— 
of  thinking  there  was  some  value  in  the  "pledged 
faith  and  honor"  of  the  British  Crown ! 

This  is  the  same  Britain  that  was  so  painfully 
shocked  (bless  its  virtuous  heart !)  when,  recent- 
ly, a  German  diplomat  called  a  treaty  a  scrap 
of  paper  1    TJiose  unutterable  Germans  I 


fP 


CHAPTER  VI. 

STILL  THE  PENAL  LAWS 

Throughout  those  dark  days  the  hunted  Irish 
schoolmaster,  with  price  upon  his  head,  was  hid- 
den from  house  to  house.  And  in  the  summer 
days  he  gathered  his  little  class,  hungering  and 
thirsting  for  knowledge,  behind  a  hedge  in  re- 
mote mountain  glen — ^where,  while  tattered  lads 
upon  the  hilltops  kept  watch  for  the  British  sol- 
diers, he  fed  to  his  eager  pupils  the  forbidden 
fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge. 

Latin  and  Greek  were  taught  to  ragged  hunt- 
ed ones  under  shelter  of  the  hedges  -  whence 
these  teachers  were  known  as  hedge  schoolmas- 
ters. A  knowledge  of  Latin  was  a  frequent 
enough  accomplishment  among  poor  Irish  moun- 
taineers in  the  seventeenth  century, — an4  was 
gpokea  by  many  of  them  on  special  occasicSns,  It 
is  truthfully  boa.sted  that  cows  were  sometimes 
bought  and  sold  in  Greek,  in  mountain  market- 
places of  Kerry.  I  had  a  valued  friend,  an  old 
mountaineer  in  Donegal,  who  told  me  how, 
even  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,     his 

91 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

father,  then  a  youth,  used  to  hear  at  "The 
Priests  Dinner,"  in  the  mountain  station  house, 
the  priest,  the  schoolmaster  and  many  of  the 
well-to-do  mountaineers  discourse  in  Latin. 

To  these  hedg-e  schoolmasters  who  at  the  cost 
of  all  their  happiness  and  risk  of  their  lives,  fed 
the  little  flame  of  knowledge  and  kept  it  burn- 
ing among  the  hills  and  glens  of  Ireland,  through- 
out Ireland's  dread  night,  Ireland  can  never  re- 
pay her  debt.  In  my  book  of  verse,  "Ballads  of 
a  Country-boy,"  I  sing  a  little  stave  to  their 
memory : 

THE  HEDGE  SCHOOOIASTERS 

When  the  night  shall  lift  from  Erin's  hills,  'twere 

shame  if  we  forget 
One  band  of  unsung  heroes  whom  Freedom  owes 

a  debt. 
When  we  brim  high  cups  to  brave  ones  then, 

their  memory  let  us  pledge 
Who  gathered  their  ragged    classes    behind    a 

friendly  hedge. 

By  stealth  they  met  their  pupils  in  the  glen's 

deep-hidden  nook, 
And  taught  them  mai^  a  lesson  was  never  in 

English  book; 

9» 


STILL  THE  PENAL  LAWS 

There  was  more  than  wordy  logic  shown  to  use 
in  wise  debate; 

Nor  amo  was  the  only  verb  they  gave  to  con- 
jugate. 

When  hunted  on  the  heathery  hill  and  through 
the  shadowy  wood, 

They  cHmbed  the  cliff,  they  dared  the  marsh,  they 
stemmed  the  tumbling  flood; 

Their  blanket  was  the  clammy  mist,  their  bed 
the  wind-swept  bent; 

la  fitful  sleep  they  dreamt  the  bay  of  blood- 
hounds on  their  scent. 

Their  lore  was  not  the  brightest,  nor  tiieir  store, 

mayhap,  the  best, 
But  they  fostered  love,  undying,  in  each  young 

Irish  breast; 
Amd  through  the  dread,  dread  night,  and  long, 

that  steeped  our  island  then. 
The  lamps  of  hope  and  fires  of  faith  were  fed  by 

these  brave  men. 
Tlie  grass  waves  green  above  them ;  soft  sleep  is 

theirs  for  aye; 
The  hunt  is  over,  and  the  cold ;  the  hunger  passed 

away. 


IRELAND'S     CASE 

O,  hold  them  high  and  holyl  and  their  memory 

proudly  pledge, 
Who  gathered  their    ragged    classes    behind  a 

friendly  hedge. 

Throughout  these  dreadful  centuries,  too,  the 
hunted  priest — who  as  a  youth  had  been  smuggled 
to  the  Continent  of  Europe  to  receive  his  training 
— tended  the  flame  of  faith.  He  was  hidden  like 
a  thief  among  the  hills.  On  Sundays  and  feast 
days  he  celebrated  Mass  on  a  rock  on  a  mountain- 
s?.de  in  a  remote  glen,  while  the  congregation 
knelt  there  on  the  heather  of  the  hillside  under 
the  open  heavens.  While  he  said  Mass,  faithful 
sentries  watched  from  all  the  nearby  hilltops,  to 
give  timely  warning  of  the  approaching  priest- 
hunter  and  his  guard  of  British  soldiers. 

But  sometimes  the  troops  came  on  them  un- 
awares, and  the  Mass  Rock  was  bespattered  with 
the  blood  of  the  "surpliced  ruffian'*  (as  he  is, 
by  English  authority,  appropriately  named), — 
aad  men,  women  and  children  caught  red-handed 
in  the  crime  of  worshipping  God  among  the  glens, 
y^cft  butchered  on  the  mountainside. 

Bishops  and  archbishops,  meanly  dressed  in 
Torasfii  home-spuns,  trudged  on  foot  among  their 

94 


STILL  THE  PENAL  UmS 

people — and  sometimes  sheltered  ttiomatlYts,  and 
ate  and  slept  in  caves  in  the  ground. 

The  gentle  Spenser  in  his  day,  obsenring  «11 
this,  *'did  marvel"  how  these  hunted  priests,  fone- 
going  all  the  comforts  and  pleasures  of  life,  and 
inviting  both  life  and  death's  fearfnlest  terrors, 
pursued  their  mission  "withoiit  hope  of  reward 
and  richesse.** 

"Reward  and  richetse!"  exclaims  the  Presby- 
terian patriot,  John  Mitchell,  commenting  on  this, 
**  I  know  the  spots  within  my  own  part  of  Ireland 
where  ve*ienrt)le  archbishops  hid  themselves,  as  it 
were,  in  a  hole  of  the  rock.  .  .  .  Yet  it  was 
with  full  knowledge  of  all  this,  with  fall  resolu- 
tion to  brave  all  this,  that  many  hundreds  of  edu- 
cated Irishmen,  fresh  from  the  colleges  of  Bel- 
gium or  of  Spain,  pushed  to  the  Sea  Coast  at 
Brest  or  St.  Malo,  to  find  some  way  of  crossing 
to  the  land  that  offered  them  a  life  of  work  and  of 
woe.  Imagine  a  priest  ordained  at  Seville  or 
Saiamanca,  a  gentleman  of  high  old  name,  a 
man  of  eloquence  and  genius,  who  has  sustained 
disputations  in  the  college  halls  on  question  of 
literature  or  theology,  and  carried  off  prizes  and 
crowns ; — see  him  on  the  quays  of  Brest,  bargain- 
ing with  some  skipper  to  be  allowed  to  work  his 
passage.      He  wears  tarry  breeches  and  a  tar- 

95 


//  / 


IRELAND'S    CASE 


pauliivhat  (for  disguise  was  geneielly  needed)— 
he  throws  himself  on  board,  does  his  full  part  of 
the  hardest  work,  neither  feeliag  the  cold  spray 
nor  the  fiercest  tempest.  And  he  knows,  too,  that 
the  end  of  it  all,  for  him,  may  be  a  row  of  sugar 
canes  to  hoe,  under  the  blazing  sun  of  Barbadoes, 
overlooked  by  a  broad-hatted  agent  of  a  Bristol 
plantation.  Yet  he  pushes  eagerly  to  meet  his 
fate ;  for  he  carries  in  his  hands  a  sacred  deposit, 
bears  in  his  heart  a  holy  message,  and  must  tell  it 
or  die.  See  him,  at  last,  springing  ashore,  and 
hurrying  on  to  seek  his  bishop  in  some  cave,  or 
under  some  hedge — but  going  with  caution  by 
reason  of  the  priest  catcher  and  the  wolf  dogs." 

The  learned  and  saintly  Bishop  Gallagher  (still 
famed  for  his  sermons),  a  noble  and  beautiful! 
character,  had  many  narrow  escapes  from  butch- 
ery in  his  unending  peregrinations,  traveling 
stick  in  hand,  and  homespun  clad,  among  his 
flock— sleeping,,  sometimes,  in  human  habitation, 
sometin^es  in  a  hole  in  tbe  bank  and  frequenjtly 
amiOi^ttg  the  beasts  of  the  field.  Once  when  he  had 
the  good  fortune  to  be  sheltered  under  a  poor  roof 
in  Donegal,  he  was  aroused  in  the  middle  of  the 
night  by  the  alarm  that  the  priest  hunters  were 
close  upon  him.  Half-ciad,  he  escaped — but  the 
poor  man  who  had  been  guilty  of  housing  him, 

96 


STILL  THE  PENAL  LAWS 

was  taken  out  and  butchered — ^thereby  saving  the 
priest  hunters  from  an  entirely  unprofitable  and 
uncomfortable  night  journey. 

After  Bishop  Gallagher  was  translated  from 
Donegal  to  a  Bishopric  in  the  midlands,  the 
Bishop's  Palace  of  this  learned  and  truly  noble 
man  was  a  bothy  built  against  a  bank  in  the  bog 
of  Allen.  I 

Thus  in  their  miserable  lairs,  in  the  bogs  and 
barren  mountains,  whither  they  were  trailed  by 
wolf-hounds  and  blood-hounds,  were  sheltered  all 
that  was  noble,  high  and  holy  in  Ireland — while 
scoundrels,  silk-and-fine-linen-clad,  fattening  on 
the  <at  of  an  anguished  land,  languished  in  the 
country's  high  seats  of  honor;  or  with  Bible  in 
blood-embrued  hands,  and  eyes  upturned  to  God, 
stalked  abroad,  models  of  true  English  Christian- 
ity for  the  edification  of  the  Irish  barbarians. 

The  late  date  down  to  which  these  persecutions 
were  carried  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  the 
present  Irish  Primate's  predecessor.  Archbishop 
McGettigan,  used  to  tell  how,  in  his  young  days, 
at  the  Mass  Rock  in  the  mountain,  he  acted  as 
sentry,  as  acolite,  and  as  candle-stick  (one  of  the 
two  boys  who  at  either  side  of  the  altar-rock  held 
the  lighted  candle  and  shielded  it  from  the  wind) . 

On  the  occasion  of  a  recent  lecture  tour  in  Cal- 

97 


IRELAND'S    CASE 

ifomia,  I  met,  in  a  valley  of  the  Sierras,  a  middle- 
aged  Donegal  man,  who  told  me  how  when  he 
was  a  little  boy  in  Donegal  a  man  wfth  a  much 
disfigured  face  came  one  day  to  his  father's  house, 
and  how  his  father  told  him  that  the  man  had  es- 
caped with  only  this  disfigurement  from  a  Mass 
Rock  massacre — when  the  priest  hunters  and  sol- 
diers had,  unawares,  surprised  the  congregation 
in  their  crime. 

In  contrast  with  the  manner  in  which  the  Irish 
papist  was  dealt  with  for  his  religion  sake,  keep 
in  mind  how  he  dealt  with  others  when  he  had 
had  the  upper  hand. 

We  have  already  seen  what  happened  in  the 
times  of  Mary  of  England,  and  of  James  II.  of 
England. 

The  old-time  Protestant,  William  Parnell,  in 
his  historical  treatise,  testified:  "The  Roman 
Catholics  are  the  only  sect  that  ever  resumed 
power  without  exercising  vengeance." 

With  this  Protestant  testimony  to  the  liber- 
ality and  forgiveness  of  the  Irish  to  their  oppres- 
sors, contrast  then  another  Protestant's  testimony 

98 


STILL  THE  PENAL  LAWS 

to  the  liberality  of  the  usurpers  to  their  victims. 
Under  the  rule  of  the  English,  Smiles  tells  us, 
"Laws  of  the  most  ferocious  cruelty  were  devised 
against  the  Catholic  priesthood.  They  were 
hunted  like  wild  beasts,  hanged,  tortured,  behead- 
ed and  quartered.  The  mere  Irish  were  deprived 
of  the  protection  of  the  English  law,  and  might 
be  killed  with  impunity." 

Indeed  the  bereaved  family  needed  to  be  grate- 
ful, if  the  good  Englishman  who  took  the  trouble 
to  shoot  one  of  its  members  generously  refrained 
from  assessing  them  with  the  price  of  the  gun's 
priming. 

It  is  good  to  record  that  many  and  many  a  time 
during  the  centuries  of  Ireland's  agony,  the  de- 
cent Protestant  hid  the  hunted  priest  when  the 
bloodhounds,  and  human  hounds,  were  close  upon 
him,  and  saved  his  life — at  the  risk,  too,  of  his 
own. 

And  many  a  time,  too,  the  decent  Protestant — 
sometimes  a  poor  man — accepted  legal  transfer  of 
the  lands  of  his  Catholic  neighbor  to  hold  these 
lands  for  his  Catholic  neighbor's  benefit,  and  thus 
save  them  from  being  forfeited  to  an  informer. 

Of  the  Penal  system,  the  great  Irish  Protestant, 
Edmund  Burke,  said :  "It  was  a  machine  of  wise 

99 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

and  elaborate  contrivance  as  well  flitted  for  the 
impovenshment  and  degradation  of  a  people,  and 
the  debasement  in  them  of  human  nature,  as  ever 
proceeded  from  the  perverted  ingenuity  of  man." 
And  of  those  dreadful  days  the  ardent  Protes- 
tant young  Irelander,  Thomas  Davis,  sang: 

*'0  weep  those  days — ^the  Penal  Days 

When  Ireland  hopelessly  complained  1 
O  weep  those  days,  the  Penal  Days, 

When  Godless  persecution  reigned  I 
They  bribed  the  flock,  they  bribed  the  son. 

To  sell  the  priest,  and  rob  the  sire. 
Their  dogs  were  taught  alike  to  run 

Upon  the  track  of  wolf  and  friar; 
Among  the  poor  and  on  the  moor, 

Were  hid  the  faithful  and  the  true. 
While  traitor,  slave,  and  recreant  knave, 

Had  riches  rank  and  retenue." 

Even  in  recent  days  in  some  of  the  remote  parts 
of  Ireland  often  the  local  representatives  of  Brit- 
ish power,  the  landlord  and  magistrate,  would  not 
permit  the  erection  of  a  Catholic  Church  within 
the  district  that  he  lorded  over.  The  Church  of 
the  famous,  fighting  Father  McP^dden  in  Gwee- 
dore,  had  to  be  erected  on  a  No-man's  land,  the 

lOO 


STILL  THE  PENAL  LAWS 

dead-line  between  the  possessions  of  two  English 
landlords — a  gulch  which  had  been  the  bed  of 
a  mountain  torrent — now  diverted.  On  a  fatal 
stormy  Sunday  in  the  '8o's  the  torrent,  finding  its 
old  way  again,  swept  down  upon  the  little  chapel 
when  it  was  packed  with  its  mountain  congrega- 
tion, carried  away  chapel,  priest  and  worshippers, 
and  left  sad  hearts  and  lone  hearths  in  bleak 
Gweedore. 

In  my  own  parish  of  Inver,  a  relic  of  the  Penal 
Days  was  with  us  till  I  had  reached  mature  man- 
hood— in  the  form  of  a  scalan — a  three-walled, 
thatched  Mass-shed  which  sheltered  the  altar  and 
the  officiating  priest.  In  front  of  the  open  end, 
the  congregation,  gathered  hither  from  miles  of 
moor  and  mountain,  kneeling  on  the  bare  hillside 
under  the  open  Heavens — often  with  slush  soak- 
ing their  knees,  and  pelting  rain  or  driving  hail 
mercilessly  lashing  their  bodies,  and  whipping 
their  upturned  faces — heard  Mass  every  Sunday. 
Whether  blowing  or  snowing,  shining  or  shower- 
ing, every  Sunday  morning  were  there  from  re- 
mote homes  man  and  woman,  boy  and  girl,  bare- 
footed child  and  crawling  old.  I  have  knelt  with 
them — one  of  them. 

In  the  days  when  I,  a  bouchaillin,  scudd  ed 
the  moors  to  Mass,  there  mothered  England  and 

>oi 


IRELAND'S    CASE 

slep-mothered  Ireland  a  very  respectable,  very 
lugubrious,  and  very  homely-minded  old  lady, 
who  had  developed  a  comfortable  embonpoint, 
and  fattened  a  very  large  and  very  ordinary 
brood  of  children,  at  the  expense  of  poor,  lean, 
famished,  famine-haunted  Ireland — a  worthy 
enough  old  lady  who  represented  the  power  that 
robbed  us  of  everything  except  our  hardships, 
and  gave  us  nothing  but  our  poverty.  Now  about 
the  very  time  that  our  scalan  congregation  would 
i)e  kneeling  down  on  the  arctic  shoulder  of  Ardag- 
1  cy  Hill  this  good  lady  and  her  middling  well- 
trained  children  would  probably  be  bogging  their 
knees  in  the  yielding  plush  of  their  prie-dieux 
in  the  magnificent  Chapel  of  Buckingham  Palace 
— or  before  a  comforting  fire,  languidly  sinking 
out  of  one  another's  sight  in  the  caressing  up- 
holstery of  their  Palace  drawing-room.  And  I 
can  vividly  remember  the  queer  questioning  that 
started  in  my  boyish  mind  one  fierce  February 
Sunday  when,  with  the  miserable  multitude  at 
Mass  on  that  storm-lashed  hillside,  our  knees 
sunk  in  the  marrow-freezing  mire,  our  few  sorry 
clothes  soaked  through  and  plastered  to  our  bones 
by  the  snow-broth,  our  bared  heads  battered,  and 
Traces  whipped  and  cut  by  the  driving  sleet,  I 
heard  tlie  sagart  (a  simple  saintly  soul)  lead  us 

I03 


STILL  THE  PENAL  LAWS 

in  supplication  to  the  Lord  to  grant  health  and 
happiness  to,  and  shower  His  manifold  blessings 
upon,  "Her  Majesty,  the  Queen  of  this  Realm, 
and  all  the  Royal  Family!" 

Oh  the  irony  of  the  ways  of  poor  hungry  Ire- 
land! Oh  the  wistful  naivete  of  comfortable,  fat 
England!  happy  as  the  happiest  hog  that  ever 
wallowed  and  grunted  in  the  split  wealth  of  his 
sty! 


W8 


CHAPTER  VII. 
THE  BRITISH  GARRISaN  IN  IRELAND 

This  chapter  does  not  treat  upon  the  ordinary 
British  army  in  Ireland.  It  refers  to  an  unofficial 
British  army,  AVhich,  more  than  the  regular  army, 
has  held  Ireland  for  England — held  it  down. 

What  has  come  to  be  known  as  the  British  gar- 
rison in  Ireland,  is  the  vast  body  of  the  Brito- 
Irish,  referred  to  in  the  last  chapter  as  having 
been  amongst  the  cruellest,  most  brutal  maltreat- 
ors  of  the  Irish  people.  It  is  the  greater  portion 
of  the  descendants  of  the  British — the  English 
and  Scotch,  who,  through  centuries,  came  here 
either  as  officials  to  grow  fat  upon  Ireland  or  as 
settlers  to  accept  her  richest  confiscated  lands. 

While  a  small,  but  important,  percentage  of  the 
best  of  them  have  become  truly  Irish,  the  greater 
part  of  these  people,  whose  families  have  been  300 
and  400  years  in  Ireland,  are,  today,  more  truly 
anti-Irish  than  were  their  forefathers,  centuries 
ago. 

The  early  English  who  came  over  before  the 
days  of  Elizabeth,  and  who  w^ere  chiefly  Norman 

104 


THE  BRITISH  GARRISON  IN  IRELAND 

English,  were  absorbed  by  the  Irish,  almost  as 
fast  as  they  settled  amongst  them.  It  was  the 
bitter  complaint  of  an  eariy  English  Deputy  to 
the  British  Pariiament  that  these  people  to  whom 
England  had  generously  given,  with  lavish  hand, 
of  Irish  lands,  had  after  a  few  generations  become 

— ^to  quote  his  oft-quoted  words — "ipsis  Hiber- 
nicis  Hiberniores" — ^more  Irish  than  the  Irish 
themselves.  Special  laws  had  to  be  passed  by  the 
British  Parliament,  forbidding  amongst  these 
early  British  settlers  in  Ireland  any  Irish  cus- 
toms, Irish  manners,  Irish  dress,  Irish  language — 
in  endeavor  to  save  them  to  England  as  an  Eng- 
lish garrison.  But  the  laws  were  passed  in  vain. 
The  exceptional  cruelty  that  characterized  the 
British  wars  in  Ireland  from  Elizabeth  onwards, 
coupled  with  the  difference  of  religion  of  all  set- 
tlers thenceforward,  and  the  religious  persecution 
which  was  superadded  to  the  political,  now  ac- 
complished what  laws  had  hitherto  failed  to  do. 
The  two  races  henceforward  not  only  never 
blended,  but  the  bitterest  feelings  between  them 
were  naturally  begotten  and  nurtured.  And  the 
major  part  of  British  in  Ireland  from  that  day  to 
the  present  day,  have  reversed  the  order  of  their 
antecedents  and  become  more  anti-Irish  than  the 

105 


IRELAND'S    CASE 

English,  more  British  than  the  British  them- 
selves. 

What  we  call  the  British  garrison  in  Ireland — 
all  of  those  of  purely  British  blood  who  still  retain 
their  British  anti-Irish  bias — constitutes  about 
one-fourth  of  the  population  of  the  Island  at  the 
present  day — by  far  the  largest  portion  of  them 
being  in  the  northeast  of  the  Island,  with  Belfast, 
sc  to  speak,  as  their  capital  center.  It  is  they 
who,  today,  form  the  political  party  known  as 
Unionists,  Orangemen,  Anti-Home  Rulers,  and 
anti-everything  that  is  for  the  political  advance- 
ment of  the  country  on  which  they  batten. 

By  far  the  largest  portion  of  this  British  gar- 
risn  in  Ireland  was  planted  here  in  the  beginning 
and  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
They  came  over  chiefly  in  the  course  of  two  gteat 
"settlements" — the  Ulster  Plantation  and  the 
Cromwellian  Settlement. 

The  Ulster  Plantation  was  carried  out  in  the 
first  decade  of  the  seventeenth  century  by  James 
the  First  of  England  (Sixth  of  Scotland).  From 
five  of  the  richest  counties  of  Ulster  (which  has 
nine  counties  in  all),  he  drove  such  of  the  Irish  as 
had  survived  the  sword — drove  them  to  dwell 
with  the  snipes  on  the  moors,  and  the  badgers  in 
the  mountains,  of  those  barren  portions  of  Ulster 

io6 


THE  BRITISH  GARRISON  IN   IRELAND 

that  were  of  no  use  to  him,  his  followers  or  any 
normal  human  being.  The  fertile  lands  that  were 
taken  from  these  fugitives — about  the  most  fertile 
in  Ireland — James  bestowed  upon  his  own  faith- 
ful Scots.  He  brought  over  the  Scotch  Under- 
takers (as  they  were  officially  called),  and  par- 
celled out  to  them  the  confiscated  rich  lands  in 
parcels  of  5,000  acres,  2,000  acres,  and  1,000  acres. 

Yet  the  sons  of  Ulster  Scots  (and  many  of 
their  unthinking  advocates)  now  proudly  point 
to  their  wealth  and  their  Catholic  neighbors*  pov- 
erty— as  object  lessons  on  industry  and  idleness ! 

The  written  conditions  on  which  they,  were 
tj^iven  these  lands — and  on  which  they  undertook 
them — are  practically  all  summed  up  in  the  stipu- 
lation that  they  were  to  be  England's  garrison 
in  Ulster — keeping  so  many  armed  retainers  and 
so  many  stands  of  arms,  and  building  their  houses 
like  fortresses,  to  hold  the  wild  Irish  confined  to 
their  mountain  lairs,  if  they  could  not  succeed  in 
extinguishing  them. 

The  aim,  object  and  conditions  of  the  Ulster 
Plantation  (as  it  is  known)  is  very  pithily  pre- 
sented in  a  few  words  of  a  communication  from 
one  of  the  garrison  in  Ireland  to  a  government 
official  in  England.  I  do  not  recall  whether  it 
is  from  Lecky  or  from  Mrs.    Green,    that  are 

107 


IRELAND'S    CASE 

taken  these  words  of  the  British  gentleman. 
''The  present  frame  of  Irish  government  is  partic- 
ularly well  suited  for  our  purpose.  That  frame 
is  a  Protestant  garrison  in  possession  of  the  land, 
magistracy,  and  power  of  the  country;  holding 
that  property  under  the  tenure  of  British  power 
and  supremacy,  and  ready  at  every  instant  to 
crush  the  rising  of  the  conquered."  And  thus 
were  the  Irishrie  induced  to  develop  their  well- 
known  affection  for  Mother  Eng^land. 

Sir  John  Davies  in  his  book,  "Discoverie  of 
the  True  Causes  Why  Ireland  Was  Never  Sub- 
dued and  Brought  Under  Obedience  to  the 
Crowne  of  England  Until  the  Beginning  of  His 
Majestie's  Happie  Reign/'  throws  interesting 
light  on  this.  He  says,  "The  multitude,  having 
been  brayed,  as  it  were,  in  a  mortar,  with  sword, 
pestilence  and  famine,  altogether  became  admir- 
ers of  the  crowne  of  England."  How  could  the 
gratified  creatures  help  it,  gentle  Sir  Johnl 

These  people  and  their  descendants,  in  Ulster, 
far  from  blending  with  the  Irish  people,  always 
aimed,  as  was  expected,  to  trample  them  out. 
From  the  day  they  came  to  Ireland  to  the  pres- 
ent day  there  has  been  no  intermarriage,  no  in- 
termixture. The  two  streams  have  since  flowed 
side  by  side  but  always  in  contrast,  always  dis- 

io8 


THE  BRITISH  GARRISON  IN  IRELAND 

tinct.  And  the  flow  has  never,  to  the  present 
day,  been  peaceable. 

These  Scotch-Irish  (as  they  have  been  nick- 
named in  America)  always,  up  to  a  few  years 
ago,  held  all  honors,  all  offices,  all  power,  in  their 
hands — even,  so  far  as  they  dared,  the  power  of 
life  and  death  over  their  Irish  papist  neighbors. 
But  from  their  first  day  in  Ireland  down  to  their 
last  day  of  power  (which,  in  some  parts  of  Ul- 
ster, is  not  yet)  they  exercised  the  power  piti- 
lessly upon  their  despoiled  neighbors — ^always, 
of  course,  for  patriotic  reasons. 

And  that  the  "patriots' "  last  day  of  power  is 
not  just  yet  is  eloquently  evidenced  by  cold  gov- 
ernment statistics.  The  return  of  men  holding 
Local  Government  Offices  in  Ulster  five  years 
ago  shows  that  there  were  1,192  Protestant  office- 
holders and  199  Catholics!  What  the  statistics 
do  not  show,  however,  is  that  almost  all  of  the 
199  favored  Papists  got  offices  which  were  too 
mean  for  the  God's  chosen  to  accept. 

The  story  of  the  terrible  wrongs  inflicted  by 
these  settlers  and  their  descendants  upon  those 
w^hom  they  or  their  forefathers  had  dispossessed 
would  make  as  fearful  reading  as  does  any  chap- 
ter of  Irish  history  since  the  coming  of  the  Eng- 
lish. 

109 


IRELAND'S    CASE 

But  as  their  power  of  wrong  doing  has  almost 
passed,  it  is  better  that  the  repulsive  particulars 
of  the  wrong  doing  should  pass  with  it.  The  de- 
plorable situation  of  the  harried  and  hunted 
Irish  of  the  North  during  that  time  may  be 
summed  up  and  dismissed  in  the  words  of  an 
Anglo-Irish  Jurist  of  the  bad  days — "The  law 
does  not  suppose  any  such  person  to  exist  as  an 
Irish  Roman  Catholic." 

Before  quitting  this  portion  of  the  subject,,  it 
v'ill  be  of  interest  to  Irish-Americans  and  to 
Scotch-Irish-Americans  to  note  the  character  of 
the  ^pen  who  formed  the  Ulster  Colony,  from 
which  came  those  whom  America  names  the 
Scotch-Irish.  I  quote  the  testimonials  not  from 
their  enemies  but  from  their  own.  And  it  can- 
not be  disputed  that  they  knew  of  what  they  were 
speaking. 

Reid,  in  his  "History  of  the  Irish  Presbyteri- 
ans," says,  "Although  among  those  whom  divine 
Providence  did  send  to  Ireland,  there  were  sev- 
eral persons  eminent  for  both  education  and 
parts,  yet  the  most  part  were  such  as  either  pov- 
erty or  scandalous  lives  had  forced  hither." 

And  Stewart,  the  son  of  a  Presbyterian  min- 
ister who  was  one  of  the  planters,  writes,  "From 
Scotland  came  many,  and  from  England  not  a 

no  h 


THE  BRITISH  GARRISON  IN  IRELAND 

few,  yet  all  of  them  generally  the  scum  of  both 
nations,  who  from  debt,  or  breaking,  or  fleeing 
justice,  or  secfdng  shelter,  came  hither  hoping 
to  be  without  fear  of  man's  justice." 

It  is  well  worth  observing  that  while,  for 
the  first  hundred  years  after  they  came  to  Ireland 
these  Ulster  Presbyterians  worked  con  amore 
with  the  English  Episcopalians,  in  passing  and 
in  executing  the  cruellest  laws  for  the  suppression 
of  the  hunted  Irish, — in  the  reign  of  Anne,  when 
the  Episcopalians  found  themselves  able  to  do 
without  the  aid  of  these  despised  tools,  the 
Ulster  Presbyterians  were,  for  half  a  cen- 
tury, treated  to  a  right  hearty  dose  of 
the  very  medicine  they  had  so  eagerly  mixed 
for  the  hated  Papists,  'llie  laws  they  had  helped 
to  pass  for  the  suppression  of  Papistry,  were  now 
used  for  the  suppression  of  Presbyterianism — 
their  religion  was  proscribed,  their  industries  were 
killed — the  rod  they  had  pickled  for  the  Papist 
was  right  smartly  applied  to  their  own  hereafters 
— they  were  whipped  out  of  Ulster,  and  in  tens 
of  thousands  sent  scurrying  to  America,  where 
they  arrived  in  crowded  ship-loads,  calling  down 
curses  on  England,  her  persecutions  and  perse- 
cutors ! 

It  was  amongst  these  people  in  Ulster  that  the 

III 


IRELAND'S    CASE 

Orange  Society  was  formed,  and  fostered,  prac- 
tically for  the  suppression  of  Roman  Catholics 
and  Roman  Catholicism.  And  it  is  these  people 
who,  still  foreigners  in  blood,  breeding,  educa- 
tion, and  outlook,  occupying  less  than  one-half 
of  Ulster,  and  electing  less  than  half  of  the  Parli- 
amentary representatives  of  Ulster,  are  mistak- 
enly known  in  America  as  Ulsterites,  and  are 
mistakenly  supposed  to  own  and  occupy  all,  or 
almost  all,  of  Ulster.  Though  it  must  be  admit- 
ted that  the  amount  of  noise  they  make  when 
taking  Ulster's  name  in  vain  makes  it  excusable 
for  any  uninformed  outsider  to  suppose  that  they 
own  not  only  all  Ulster  but  all  Ireland. 

This  Ulster  plantation  was  then  one  of  the 
very  great  and  permanent  "Settlements"  of  Ire- 
land. The  other  great  and  permanent  one  oc- 
curred half  a  century  later.  It  was  the  Crom- 
wellian  Settlement. 

Cromwell  began  by  desolating  Ireland  and 
then  settling  it.  But  first  let  me  say,  in  Crom- 
well's behalf,  that  in  depopulating  and  desolat- 
ing the  land  he  was  merely  carrying  out  orders 
conscientiously.  From  Dublin,  under  date  25th 
February,  1642,  the  Government  issued  for  the 
guidance  of  its  generals,  the  very  clear  and  ex- 
plicit command,  "to  wound,  kUl^  ^a^  and  destroy 

IIJ 


THE  BRITISH  GARRISON  IN  IRELAND 

by  all  the  ways  and  means  you  may,  all  the  reb- 
els and  adherents  and  relievers;  and  burn,  spoil, 
waste,  consume  and  demolish  all  places,  towns, 
and  houses,  where  the  said  rebels  are  or  have 
been  relieved  and  harboured,  and  all  hay  and 
corn  there,  and  kill  and  destroy  all  the  men  in- 
habiting, able  to  bear  arms."  (See  Carte's  "Or- 
mond"). 

When  Cromwell  had  completed  his  work  to  his 
satisfaction,  and  that  almost  all  of  the  able-bodied 
men  (not  to  mention  thousands  of  old  men, 
women  and  children)  had  been  killed  and  de- 
stroyed or  sold  into  slavery,  the  Cromwellian 
Settlement  began  under  direction  of  the  English 
Commissioners.  The  survivors  of  the  Irish  peo- 
ple were,  by  Parliamentary  edict,  commanded  to 
betake  themselves  to  Connaught — the  wild  and 
desolate  Province  beyond  the  Shannon — by  or 
before  the  first  day  of  May,  1654.  And  the 
Cromwellian  troops  were  paid  with  confiscated 
lands  and  homes. 

Of  this  time  Prendergast  gives  a  picture  in 
his  "Cromwellian  Settlement  of  Ireland";  "Ire- 
land, in  the  language  of  Scripture,  now  lay  void 
as  a  wilderness.  Five-sixths  of  her  people  had 
perished.  Women  and  children  were  found 
daily  perishing  in  ditches,  starved.     The  bodies 

"3 


IRELAND'S    CASE 

c#f  many  wandering  orphans,  whose  fathers  had 
been  killed  or  exiled,  and  whose  mothers  had 
died  of  famine,  were  preyed  upon  by  wolves.  In 
the  years  1562  and  1563  the  plague,  following  the 
desolating  wars,  had  swept  away  whole  counties, 
so  that  one  might  travel  twenty  or  thirty  miles 
and  not  see  a  living  creature.  Man,  beast  and 
bird  were  all  dead,  or  had  quit  those  desolate 
places.  The  troops  would  tell  stories  of  the 
place  where  they  saw  a  smoke,  it  was  so  rare  to 
see  either  smoke  by  day,  or  fire  or  'candle  by 
night.  If  two  or  three  cabins  were  met  with, 
tlicrc  were  found  none  but  aged  men,  with  women 
and  children;  and  they,  in  the  words  of  the 
prophet,  'become  as  a  bottle  in  the  smoke,'  their 
skins  black  like  an  oven  because  of  the  terrible 
famine," 

Then  every  knave  and  rascal  from  England. 
and  every  English  vulture,  harpy  and  ghoul,  flew 
hither,  to  rob  the  dead  and  the  dying.  Over  the 
desolate  land  from  which  was  rising  the  reek 
of  blood  that  smelt  good  in  the  nostrils  of  these 
scoundrels,  they  roamed,  picking  and  choosing 
where  they  would,  and  where  they  could — and 
in  the  meantime  lived  zestfully  and  profitably  by 
harrying  and  murdering  and  plundering  of  their 
few  pitiable  belongings,  the  streams  of  tottering 

"4 


; 


THE  BRITISH  GARRISON  IN  IRELAND 

\  ery  old  and  crawling  very  young,  the  hungerini;, 
piteous  children  and  skeleton-like,  hollow-eyed 
old  men  and  women  who,  with  sighs  and  groans 
and  breaking  hearts,  were  painfully  toiling  on 
their  weakened  limbs  to  their  Westward  Siberia. 
"To  Hell  or  Connaught"  had  been  the  command. 
These  poor  creatures  had  chosen  Connaught. 

From  the  Government  records,  Prendergast 
gives  us  samples  of  the  official  description  of  the 
migrating  Irish,  both  the  high  brought  low,  and 
the  lowly  still  lower.  Here  are  a  few  of  these 
official  entries: 

"Sir  Nicholas  Comyn  of  Limerick  numb  on 
one  side  of  dead  palsy,  accompanied  only  by  his 
wife,  Catherine,  aged  thirty-five,  flaxen  hair,  of 
middle  stature,  and  one  maid  servant,  Honor 
MacNamara,  aged  twenty,  brown  hair,  middle 
stature — having  no  substance." 

"Ignatius  Stacpool  of  Limerick,  orphant,  eleven 
years  of  age,  flaxen  hair,  full  face,  low  of  stature ; 
Catherine,  his  sister,  orphant,  age  eight,  flaxen 
hair,  full  face — ^having  no  substance." 

"James,  Lord  Dun  Boyne  in  County  Tipperary, 
describes  himself  as  likely  to  be  accompanied  by 
twenty-one  followers,  and  as  having  four  cows, 
ten  garans  and  two  swine." 

The  Lord  and  the  commoner,  the  palsied  ol4 

"$ 


IRELAND'S    CASE 

man,  and  the  toddling  orphan  child — ^all  alike 
were  driven  forth  from  their  homes,  and  by  Brit- 
ain's brave  soldiers  goaded  over  the  blood-stained 
flints  to  their  Siberia. 

The  Barony  of  Burren  in  Clare,  to  which  the 
first  batch  of  these  unfortunates  were  consigned, 
was  such  a  god-forsaken  region  that  it  was  popu- 
larly said  to  have,  not  wood  enough  on  which  to 
hang  a  man,  water  enough  to  drown  him,  nor 
earth  enough  to  bury  him.  Beside  it  Siberia 
were  Eden. 

The  historian  Morrison,  a  Britisher  who  was 
on  the  ground  and  saw  for  himself  the  horrors, 
records:  "Neither  the  Israelites  were  more 
cruelly  persecuted  by  Pharaoh,  nor  the  innocent 
infants  by  Herod,  nor  the  Christians  by  Nero, 
or  any  other  of  the  pagan  tyrants,  than  were  the 
Roman  Catholics  of  Ireland  by  these  savage 
Commissioners." 

But  be  it  noted  England  plundered  and  drove 
to  starvation  and  death,entirely  for  this  ungrate- 
ful people's  good.  Sir  John  Davies,  who  had 
planned  the  method  of  the  Ulster  Plantation, 
laid  it  down  that — like  every  other  crime  ever 
committed  by  England — it  was  for  the  good  of 
the  people  and  the  glory  of  God  to  rob  them  of 
their  fruitful  lands  and  banish  them  to  the  bar- 

ii6 


THE  BRITISH  GARRISON  IN  IRELAND 

rcn  wilds.  Sir  John  in  his  historical  tract  says, 
**This  transplanting  of  the  natives  is  made  by  his 
Majesty  like  a  father,  rather  than  a  lord  or  mon- 
arch. .  .  .  So  as  his  Majesty  doth  in  this 
imitate  the  skillful  husbandman  who  doth  remove 
his  fruit  trees,  not  on  purpose  to  extirpate  and 
destroy,  but  that  they  may  bring  forth  better 
and  sweeter  fruit!" 

If  England  roasted  a  man  alive — as  often  she 
did — the  virtuous  Englishman  proved  to  his  own 
satisfaction  that  roasting  alive  was  the  most 
wholesome  thing  under  Heaven  for  that  fellow's 
constitution.  And,  of  course,  humbly,  to  God 
alone  was  the  glory.  That  was  always,  of  course, 
in  the  history  of  Britain.  God  is  ever  Britain's 
accomplice,  before,  during  and  after  every  vir- 
tuous British  act. 

In  this  connection  I  set  down  here  another  fine 
illustration  of  England's  pious  way  of  sending 
people  to  Hell  for  their  good  and  God's  glory. 

After  the  conquest  of  Jamaica  in  1655 — st'id 
after  thousands  of  the  Irish  had,  through  years 
before,  been  shipped  into  slavery,  the  Governor 
asked  for  a  thousand  girls  from  Ireland  to  be 
shipped  there — ^to  the  most  appalling  kind  of 
slavery. 

Secretary  Thurloe's  Correspondence,  Vol.  4, 

"7 


IRELAND'S     CASE 

gives  Henry  Cromwell's  reply  to  this  modest  re- 
quest— in  his  letter  of  September  n,  1655: 

"Concerninge  the  younge  women,  although  we 
must  use  force  in  takeinge  them  up,  yet  it  bcinge 
so  much  for  their  owne  goode  and  likely  to  he 
of  soe  great  advantage  to  the  publique,  it  is  not 
in  the  least  doubted  you  may  have  such  number 
of  them  as  you  thinke  fitt  to  make  use  upon  this 
account.  ...  I  desire  to  expro-^s  as  much 
zeal  in  this  design  as  you  would  wish,  and  shall 
be  as  diligent  in  prosequution  of  any  directiones 
.  .  .  judgeinge  it  to  be  business  of  publique 
concernment.  .  .  .  Blessed  be  God,  I  do  not 
finde  many  discouragements  in  my  worke,  and 
hope  I  shall  not  doe  it  soe  longe  as  the  Lord  is 
pleased  to  keep  my  harte  uprighte  before  him." 

And  under  date  of  September  18,  1655,  Henry 
of  the  Uprighte  Harte,  writing  from  Kilkenny 
ag^in  to  Thurloe,  says  in  the  course  of  his  letter, 
**I  shall  not  neede  to  repeat  anythinge  abdut  the 
girlcs,  not  doubtinge  but  to  answer  your  expec- 
tationes,  to  the  full  in  that :  and  I  think  it  might 
Lc  of  like  advantage  to  your  affaires  there,  and 
to  ours  hear  if  you  should  thinke  fitt  to  sende 
1500  or  2000  young  boys  of  from  twelve  to  four- 
teen years  of  age,  to  the  place  aforementioned. 
Wc  could  well  spare  them,  and  they  would  be  of 

118 


THE  BRITISH  GARRISON  IN  IRELAND 

use  to  you ;  and  who  knowes  but  that  it  may  be 
the  meancs  to  make  them  Englishmen,  I  mean 
lather  Christians." 

The  justification  of  himself  on  the  ground  that 
the  boys'  enslaving  might  make  them  good  Eng 
lishmen  (which  in  the  sight  of  God,  meant,  of 
course,  good  Christians) — and  the  tearing  away 
and  the  carrying  off  of  the  girl  children  for  the 
personal  use  of  the  swinish  English  planters  in 
Jamaica,  because  it  was  "so  much  for  their  own 
good"! —  is  a  brilliancy  that,  of  all  men  under 
Heaven,  could  burst  forth  only  from  the  brain  of 
an  Englishman — whose  harte  the  Lord  is  pleased 
to  keep  uprighte  before  Him, 

And  this  was  the  Cromwellian  Settlement. 

Some  authorities  say  that  before  the  Cromwel- 
lian Settlement  the  proportion  of  the  Irish  lands 
still  in  the  hands  of  the  Irish  was  two-thirds  of 
all  Ireland.  Still  others  say  that  as  much  as  nine- 
tenths  of  the  lands  in  three  of  the  provinces 
had  still  been  in  the  hands  of  the  Irish.  After 
the  Cromwellian  Settlement,  Sir  William  Petty 
says  that  two-thirds  of  Ireland  was  owned  by 
the  British  settlers,  but  another  authority  says 
that  four-fifths  of  it  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Brit- 
ish. 

Our  zealous  Christian  conquerors  always  pro- 

119 


IRELAND'S     CASE 

fessed  that  their  Irish  activities  were  prompted 
by  their  eagerness  to  bring  home  the  truth  and 
beauty  of  English  Protestantism  to  the  Irish 
Papist  heathen,  and  turn  his  footsteps  from  Hell- 
ward  to  Heavenward.  But  as  one  old  Irish  his- 
torian recorded,  the  event  proved  that  they  were 
more  anxious  to  make  the  Irish  land  turn  Protes- 
tant than  the  Irish  people. 

Says  Dr.  Smiles  in  his  "History  of  Ireland": 
**The  British  colonists  who  settled  in  Ireland 
erected  themselves  into  an  Ascendancy,  of  the 
most  despotic  and  tyrannical  kind.  In  the  course 
of  time  they  possessed  themselves  of  almost  the 
entire  soil  of  Ireland,  treating  the  natives  as 
Helots  and  slaves,  and  with  a  cruelty  that  has 
never  been  exceeded  in  any  age  or  country." 

So  Ireland  was  again  settled.  Connaught, 
containing  the  miserable  remnant  of  the  Irish 
nation,  was  a  frightful  scene  of  plague,  sickness, 
starvation  and  death.  And  England  was  thank- 
ing God,  with  whom  she  was  so  intimate  and  so 
privileged,  for  the  great  mercy  shown  her — and 
for  the  proper  retribution  that  He  had  meted  out, 
through  her.  His  humble  instrument,  to  the  Irish 
barbarian  enemies  of  herself  and  Heaven. 

And  Ireland  was  given  into  the  charge  of  the 
volunteer  British  garrison. 

120 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
RESOURCES  OF  ENGLISH  CIVILIZATION 

In  Chapter  II.  I  attempted  a  faint  picture  of 
England's  civilizing  methods  in  Ireland.  But 
some  readers  will  object:  The  age  of  which  you 
spoke  was  a  barbarous  one,  anyhow. 

On  the  contrary,  the  age  of  which  I  spoke  was 
England's  golden  age. 

And  her  methods  of  civilizing  Ireland  in  that 
age  were  not  isolated  methods.  They  were  the 
methods  that  England  consistently  followed  in 
dealing  with  the  "Irish  Hottentots"  (vide  the  late 
lamented  Lord  Salsbury's  speeches) — the  Hotten- 
tots, who,  it  may  be  remembered,  had  given  civ- 
ilization, education,  and  the  Christian  faith  to  the 
greater  part  of  Britain. 

Let  us  come  down  some  centuries  farther,  and 
see  how  England's  methods  in  Ireland  have  im- 
proved. For  they  really  did  improve  as  they 
went  along.  Readers  will  admit  that,  after  they 
have  had  a  glimpse  of  English  methods  in  Ireland 
on  the  threshold  of  the  Nineteenth  Century. 

121 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

Well,  first,  hear  the  testimony  from  the  oppos- 
ing party. 

At  that  time  Lord  Moira  was  one  of  the  many 
British  Lords  who  enjoyed  Ireland's  confiscated 
lands.  But,  unlike  most  of  his  fellows,  he  had  a 
human  heart,  instead  of  a  stone,  in  his  breast.  Un- 
like the  host  of  his  fellows,  he  had  realized  that, 
after  all,  these  Irish  slaves  were  human  beings. 
At  length,  he  felt  so  revolted  at  the  scenes  going 
on  in  Ireland  every  day,  that  he,  in  the  House  of 
Lords,  on  the  22d  November,  1797,  had  to  express 
himself  as  follows:  "What  I  have  to  speak  of, 
are  not  solitary  and  isolated  measures  nor  par- 
tial abuses,  but  what  is  adopted  as  the  system  of 
government ;  I  do  not  talk  of  a  casual  system,  but 
of  one  deliberately  determined  on,  and  regularly 
persevered  in  .  .  .  My  Lords,  I  have  seen  in 
Ireland  the  most  disgusting  tyranny  any  nation 
ever  groaned  under. 

"I  have  seen  the  most  wanton  insults  practised 
upon  men  of  all  ranks  and  conditions,  the  most 
grievous  oppressions  exercised  in  districts  as 
quiet  and  free  from  disturbance  as  is  this  city  of 
London.  I  have  known  a  man,  in  order  to  ex- 
tort confession  of  a  supposed  crime  or  of  the 
crime  of  some  of  his  neighbors,  picketted  till  he 
fainted;  when  he  recovered,  picketted  until  he 

122 


RESOURCES  OF  ENGLISH  CIVILIZATION 

fainted  again;  and  after  that,  picketted  until  he 
fainted  yet  again;  and  all  upon  mere  suspicion. 
Many  have  been  taken  and  hung  up  until  half 
dead,  and  then  threatened  with  repetition  of  this, 
unless  they  confessed  imputed  guilt.  These 
were  not  particular  acts  of  cruelty  exercised  by 
men  abusing  power  committed  to  them,  but 
form  part  of  our  system." 

Mark  well,  this  British  Lord  resident  in  Ire- 
land takes  care  to  emphasize  and  to  repeat  that 
the  horrible  cruelties  to  which  the  Irish  were 
then,  as  always,  subject,  were  merely  the  or- 
dinary system,  used  and  recommended  to  be 
used,  by  Englishmen  in  ruling  Irishmen. 

Lord  Moira  went  on  to  tell  how  in  pursuance 
ol  an  illegal  proclamation,  ordering  any  Irish 
people  who  were  in  possession  of  arms  to  give 
them  up--^"If  anyone  was  suspected  of  having 
concealed  weapons  of  defense,  his  house,  furni- 
ture, and  all  property  were  burned."  The  local 
Government  official,  he  said,  arbitrarily  named 
the  numbers  of  arms  that  should  be  given  up  by 
each  district — the  numbers  that  he  supposed,  or 
pretended  to  suppose,  each  district  to  possess.  If 
any  district  did  not  surrender  all  the  arms  for 
which  it  had  pleased  this  man  to  rate  it,  a  mili- 
tary party  was  sent  out  to  collect  the  number 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

rated.  And  in  execution  of  this,  said  Lord  Moira, 
'*as  many  as  thirty  houses  were  sometimes 
burned  in  one  night." 

But  a  significant  part  of  this  testimony  is  the 
tail  ^nd  of  it  wherein  he  told  their  lordships  that, 
in  public  speech,  "for  prudential  reasons  I  wish 
to  draw  a  veil  over  the  more  aggravated  facts." 

The  account  of  Lord  Moira's  speech  may  be 
found  in  the  boolc  (published  in  1840)  entitled, 
"Lights  and  Shadows  of  Whigs  and  Tories." 

It  was  in  Ireland,  in  that  self  same  year  of 
i;97,  that  General  Abercrombie's  honest  old 
Scotch  heart  revolted,  and  he  wrote,  "Every 
crime  and  cruelty  that  could  be  cofiimitted  by 
Cosscxcks  or  Calmucks  has  been  committed  here 
.  .  .  the  abuses  of  all  kinds  that  I  found  here 
''jan  scarcely  be  believed  or  enumerated." 

It  is  only  fair  to  add  that  the  shocked  author- 
ities gave  particular  attention  to  Abercrombie's 
complaint.  Out  of  consideration  for  his  revolted 
feelings,  they  relieved  him  of  his  command. 

From  this  bit  of  testimony  alone,  the  reader 
may  see  clearly  how  far  England's  methods  in 
Ireland  kept  pace  with  the  march  of  civilization 
in  the  world  at  large. 

When  Elizabeth,  two  hundred  years  but  one, 
before  that,   was  sending  Carew  to  Ireland  to 

124 


RESOURCES  OF  ENGLISH  CIVILIZATION 

propagate,  civilization  in  that  benighted  land, 
she  authorized  him  "to  put  suspected  Irish  to  the 
rack  and  to  torture  them  when  found  conveni- 
ent" With  the  aforementioned  march  of  civili- 
zation progressing  during  two  hundred  years  of 
English  inventiveness  and  English  progress  sup- 
plied the  English  civilizer  in  Ireland  with  rich 
choice  of  many  improved  forms  of  torture — ^all 
of  which  were  In  constant  use  in  the  declining 
years  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

In  1798,  and  the  years  preceding,  when  it 
was  necessary  to  goad  the  people  into  a  prema- 
ture rebellion,  and  pave  the  way  for  the  Parlia- 
mentary Union,  the  torturers,  both  official  and 
non-official,  suffered  from  an  embarrassment  of 
riches.  The  Rev.  James  Gordon,  Protestant 
Rector  of  Killegney  in  Wexford,  relates  some- 
thing of  the  stimulating  means  adopted;  and 
among  them  mentions — '^Various  other  violent 
acts  were  committed  such  as  to  cut  away  pieces 
of  men's  ears,  even  sometimes  the  whole  ear, 
or  part  of  the  nose.  The  High  Sheriff  of  Tipper- 
ary  seized  a  gentleman  named  Wright,  against 
whom  there  were  no  grounds  of  suspicion,  had 
five  hundred  lashes  administered  to  him,  in  the 
severest  manner — and  then  confined  him  several 

125 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

days  without  permitting  his  wounds  to  be 
dressed." 

The  delightful  tortures  of  picketting,  the  cat, 
and  half  hanging,  for  the  purpose  of  extracting 
Confessions,  were  so  common  as  to  pass  unno- 
ticed. 

The  triangle  and  the  pitch  cap  were  newer 
methods  of  persuasion  in  use  then. 

The  facetious  plan  of  cropping  off  a  man's  ears, 
piece  by  piece,  by  way  of  stimulating  his  mem- 
ory, and  developing  his  confidingness,  became 
quite  popular. 

Laceration  of  the  back,  either  by  flogging  with 
a  cat-o'-nine-tails,  or  by  combing  it  with  a  steel- 
toothed  comb,  and  then  rubbing  salt  into  the 
wounds,  was  fashionable.  And  burning  of  the 
hair  with  gun-powder  was  a  new  process  of  tor- 
ture that  gave  much  satisfaction. 

Edward  Hay,  in  his  "History  of  the  Insurrec- 
tion in  Wexford,"  gives  a  description  of  this  lat- 
ter refined  amusement.  He  says  that  Mr.  Perry, 
a  Protestant  (evidently  suspected  of  sympathiz- 
ing with  the  rebels),  was  taken  out  by  the  troops, 
the  sign  of  the  cross  cropped  in  his  hair — fro'-'i 
forehead  to  v^ck  nnd  from  ear  to  ear,  tlien  gun- 
powder mixed  through  his  hair  and  set  on  fire. 
This  was  repeated  till  every  hair  that  remained 

126 


RESOURCES  OF  ENGLISH  CIVILIZATION 

could  be  pulled  out  by  the  roots.  Yet  they  still 
continued  to  burn  it  with  the  gun-powder  lit  by 
a  candle — continually  applied  and  continually 
burned  till  the   entire  scalp  was  burned  away. 

For  the  brutal  and  lustful  soldiery,  free-quar- 
ters with  all  its  attendant  horrors,  was  provided 
in  the  homes  of  the  country  people. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  numbers  of  the  poor,  ig- 
norant, suffering,  tortured,  country  people  when, 
driven  to  madness  by  such  fearful  practices, 
burst  into  disorganized  revolt,  and  in  several 
places,  before  leaders  brought  them  under  control, 
massacred  hundreds  of  the  Anglo-Irish  Protes- 
tants— many  of  whom  were  innocent  of  any 
crime  whatsoever  against  their  Catholic  neigh- 
bors. Only  they  were  of  those  who  had  driven 
these  people  to  their  frenzy.  This,  though  the 
work  of  men  driven  to  madness,  is  the  saddest 
thing  in  the  Rebellion  of  '98 — to  good  Irishmen 
far  sadder  and  more  painful  than  the  endless  tor- 
turing and  massacring  of  hosts  of  their  own  peo- 
ple by  the  English  and  the  Anglo-Irish. 

When  one  ponders  on  the  sights  that  the  agon- 
ized people  were  daily  seeing  around  them,  the 
horrors  inflicted  upon  their  kith  and  their  kin — 
a  father,  for  instance,  seeing  his  child  of  twelve 
years  wantonly  cloven  through  the  skull  by  the 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

sword  of  the  gentlemanly  English  officer  to 
whom  the  child  had  opened  the  door — the  cord- 
bound  brother  compelled  to  witness  his  sister 
outraged  by  a  troop  of  British  beasts — it  is  hard 
to  realize  how,  when  at  length  the  inevitable 
frenzy  seized  them,  and  that,  spurning  conse- 
quences and  seeing  only  red  vengeance,  they 
arose  up,  they  could  be  restrained  from  slaking 
their  thirst  for  vengeance  in  murderous  deeds 
done  indifferently  upon  innocent  and  guilty  of 
the  class  that  had  evoked  their  frenzy. 

But  notwithstanding  that  Irishmen  must  record 
their  sorrow  and  shame  that  their  people, 
even  in  the  madness  to  which  they  were  driven, 
should  do  the  deeds  that  were  appropriate  only 
to  the  oppressor,  it  is,  yet,  a  source  of  consola- 
tion to  think  that  even  in  their  frenzy  these  men 
did  not  altogether  forget  Irish  manhood.  Hear 
again  the  Protestant  Rector,  Rev.  James  Gor- 
don— ^"Amid  all  the  atrocities,  the  chastity  of 
the  fair  sex  was  respected  by  the  insurgents.  I 
have  not  been  able  to  find  one  instance  to  the 
contrary  in  the  County  Wexford,  though  many 
beautiful  young  women  were  absolutely  at  their 
mercy.**  He  also  testified  that  "Women  and 
children  were  not  put  to  death  by  the  insurgents, 
excepting  in  the  one  instance  of  the  burning  of 


RESOURCES  OF  ENGLISH  QVILIZATION 

Scullaboguc  bam  (where  about  200  Anglo-Irish 
refugees  were  burned  to  death). 

After  the  Rebellion  had  broken  out,  the  policy 
of  torture  and  of  horror  was,  of  course,  not  only 
continued,  but  improved  upon. 

The  higher  officials  who  could  not  be  in  the 
field  to  enjoy  the  fun  there,  because  they  had  to 
direct  operations  from  Dublin  Castle,  were  not, 
nevertheless,  to  be  deprived  of  their  share  of  the 
entertainment  Sir  Jonah  Barrington  says, 
"Dead  bodies  of  insurgents  sabred  by  Roden's 
dragons  were  brought  in  carts  to  Dublin,  with 
some  prisoners  tied  together.  And  on  a  hot  day, 
these  bodies,  with  wounds  gaping,  were  stretched 
out  in  the  castle  yard  in  view  of  the  Chief  Secre- 
tary's windows." 

Disembowelling  of  rebels — especially  of  leaders 
or  supposed  leaders,  was  a  favorite  form  of  relax- 
ation, for  the  English  troops  and  their  officers. 
While  General  Lake  sat  at  dinner,  he  was  enter- 
tained by  the  hanging,  and  then  the  mutilating, 
of  a  rebel,  in  front  of  his  window. 

Illuminative  of  British  refinement  and  noble 
nature  was  the  treatment  accorded  the  body  of 
Father  Murphy  (the  leader  of  the  Rebels)  after 
his  death  in  the  battle  of  Arklow.  Mr.  George 
Taylor,  in  his  Historical  Account  of  thq  Wexford 

129 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

Rebellion,  says,  "Lord  Mountnorris  and  some  of 
his  troopers  found  the  body  of  the  perfidious 
priest  Murphy,  who  had  so  much  deceived  him 
and  the  couhtry.  Being  exasperated,  his  Lord- 
ship ordered  the  head  struck  off  and  the  body 
thrown  into  a  house  that  was  burning,  exclaim- 
iiig,  at  the  same  time,  'Let  his  body  go  where  his 
soul  is.'  "  Particularly  observe  that  his  Lordship 
did  not  for  a  moment  forget  he  was  a  gentleman. 
He  was  only  exasperated.  A  noble  English  Lord 
never  stoops  to  anything  below  exasperation. 
One  of  the  common  herd  could  afford  to  indulge 
in  a  paroxysm  of  brutal  savagery  at  the  sight  of 
a  dead  patriot  leader — but  not  my  noble  lord. 

When  the  exasperated  gentleman  had  ridden 
away,  a  body  of  the  Ancient  Britons  Regiment 
came  along.  The  news  that  it  was  the  body  of 
Father  Murphy  which  they  saw  burning  there, 
naturally  ruffled  the  temper  of  these  English 
g^entlemen.  And  a  man  not  partial  to  the  insur- 
j^ents.  Rev.  James  Gordon,  in  his  History  of  the 
Rebellion,  written  five  years  later,  tells  us  that 
these  English  gentlemen,  to  sooth  their  ruffled 
temper,  "cut  open  the  dead  body  of  Father  Mur- 
phy, took  out  his  heart,  roasted  the  body,  and 
oiled  their  boots  with  the  grease  that  dripped 
from  it." — "Captain  Holmes  of  the  Durham  Reg- 

130 


RESOURCES  OF  ENGLISH  QVILIZATION 

iment,"  says  Mr.  Gk)rdon,  "told  me  in  the  pres- 
ence of  several,  that  he  himself  had  assisted  at 
cutting  open  the  breast  with  a  hatchet  and 
pulling  out  the  heart."  He  who,  striving  to  lift 
from  his  country  the  pleasant  yoke  of  Britain,  ex- 
asperates British  gentlemen,  merits  some  such 
impressive  British  rebuke. 

No  quarter  was  given  to  rebels,  or  persons 
taken  as  rebels,  with  or  without  arms.  Just  as 
was  enacted  by  the  English  Parliament  a  century 
and  a  half  before,  no  quarter  for  the  Irish  was 
still  the  English  rule  of  warfare. 

The  rule,  too,  applied  to  wounded  and  dying, 
equally  with  those  who  were  still  militant  and 
whole.  In  Enniscorthv  thirty  wounded  and  dy- 
ing insurgents  in  one  house,  which  was  being  used 
as  a  hospital,  were  burned  to  death.  One  Anglo- 
Irish  historian  excuses  the  soldiers  from  deliber- 
ately burning  these  men  to  death.  He  says  that 
the  house  was  fired  by  the  wadding  of  the  sol- 
diers' guns  setting  fire  to  the  beds,  when  the  sol- 
diers were  shooting  the  patients  in  bed! 

On  the  attitude  of  the  general  body  of  the 
Anglo-Irish,  the  Ascendency  party,  toward  the 
mere  Irish  whom  they  trampled.  Hunter  Gowan, 
the  leader  of  the  band  of  Yeos  in  Wexford,  gave 
fair  illustration.    We  find  him  returning  from  one 

^  131 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

of  his  forays  at  the  head  of  his  Yeos,  with  a 
rebel's  finger  as  a  trophy  impaled  on  the  point  of 
his  sword.  Mr.  Gowan  made  a  friendly  call  at  a 
rectory  which  they  passed,  and  playfully  fright- 
ened the  young  ladies*  with  the  funny  object  on 
his  sword  point — poking  it  in  their  faces,  chasing 
them  through  the  house  with  it,  and  humorously 
dropping  the  rebel's  finger  down  inside  the  bosom 
of  one  young  lady's  dress,  causing  her  to  faint. 
To  wind  up  a  great  day's  adventure  by  fitting  cel- 
ebration, he  stirred  the  punch  at  dinner  with  the 
Croppie's  finger. 

For,  cruel  and  savage  as  were  the  methods  of 
the  English  in  Ireland,  those  of  the  Anglo-Irish 
(the  British  who  had  been  here  for  generations 
or  centuries)  were  sometimes  infinitely  worse. 

The  noted  Sir  John  Moore,  who  had  been  sent 
to  Ireland  in  command  of  English  troops,  report- 
ed that  he  found  the  presence  of  troops  necessary 
not  to  check  the  people  in  general,  but  rather  to 
check  the  Anglo-Irish  Yeos  in  their  career  of  car- 
nage. These  Yeos,  raiding  the  country  in  bands, 
oftentimes  brought  with  them  on  their  excursions 
a  professional  hangman  to  aid  their  worthy  work. 

In  Clogheen,  Sir  John  Moore  found  the  High 
Sheriff  having  the  streets  lined  with  country  peo- 
ple on  their  knees,  and  with  hats  off,  while  he 

132 


RESOURCES  OF  ENGLISH  CIVILIZATION 

was  whipping  a  poor  devil  to  death.  The  High 
Sheriff  confided  to  Sir  John  that  he  had  "flogged 
tne  truth  out  of  many  respectable  persons." 

With  horror  and  disgust  at  England's  inhuman 
work  in  Ireland,  Moore  resigned  his  command 
and  left  the  country. 

Teeling,  in  his  "Narrative  of  the  Rebellion," 
pictures  for  us  some  of  the  sufferings  of  the  Irish 
people  during  this  terrible  time.  As  exemplify- 
ing the  small  things  for  which  great  punishment 
was  given,  he  tells  how  one  Bergan  in  the  City  of 
Drogheda,  being  convicted  of  rebellious  tenden- 
cies, because  found  in  possession  of  a  small  gold 
ring  with  shamrock  device,  was,  in  the  public 
street,  stripped  of  his  clothes,  placed  upon  a  cart, 
and  torn  with  a  cat-o'-nine-tails  not  only  till  he 
gasped  his  last  gasp,  but  "till  long  after  the  final 
spark  was  extinct." 

In  Drogheda  also,  a  boy,  as  heroic  of  will  as  he 
was  frail  of  body,  being  sentenced  to  receive  five 
hundred  lashes  for  refusing  to  make  some  dis- 
closure that  was  sought  from  him,  bore  up,  dur- 
ing nearly  half  of  the  punishment  without  show- 
ing a  single  sign  of  wincing.  Then,  finding  him- 
self unable  to  bear  any  more  without  yielding, 
and  thus  satisfying  his  executioners,  he  pretended 
to  make  a  confession,  sent  them  off  upon  a  blind 

133 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

trail,  thus  getting  time  and  opportunity  to  ctit 
his  throat  before  the  brutes  could  again  resume 
his  slow  execution. 

At  headquarters  in  Dublin,  the  Government  of- 
ficials ran  a  torture  factory,  the  horrors  of  which 
have  seldom,  if  ever,  been  surpassed  in  the  annals 
of  the  most  savage  and  most  barbarous  nations. 
"The  world  has  been  astonished  at  the  close  of 
the  Eighteenth  Century,"  says  Teeling,  "with  acts 
which  the  eye  views  with  horror  and  heart  sick- 
ens to  record.  Not  only  on  the  most  trivial  but 
the  most  groundless  occasions,  torture  was  in- 
flicted without  mercy  on  every  age  and  on  every 
condition.  In  the  center  of  the  city  the  heart- 
rending exhibition  was  presented  of  a  human  be- 
ing rushing  irom  the  infernal  de^ot  of  torture 
and  death,  his  person  besmeared  with  a  burning 
preparation  of  turpentine  and  pitch,  plunging,  in 
his  distraction,  into  the  LiflFy,  and  terminating  at 
once  his  sufferings  and  his  life." 

These  few  instances  of  English  methods  in 
Ireland  on  die  edge  of  the  Nineteenth  Century, 
are  only  samples  of  thousands  of  such  that  oc- 
curred. They  are  quite  enough  for  my  purpose — 
which  is  to  give  a  plain  picture  without  revolt- 
ing the  reader  by  still  more  horrible  details. 

If  this  method  of  ruling,  crushing,  and  tortur- 

134 


RESOURCES  OF  ENGLISH  CIVILIZATION 

ing  of  a  weak  and  beaten  people,  were  practised 
by  Russia  in  Poland,  or  by  Turkey  in  Armenia, 
or  by  some  uncivilized  barbarian  rulers,  over  a 
beaten  tribe  in  the  jungles  of  Africa,  it  might 
well  cause  the  world  to  shudder.  But  it  was  the 
method  employed  to  a  people  who  had  preserved 
and  given  back  light  and  learning  to  Europe — by 
a  people  who  inform  us  that  they  are  not  only  the 
greatest  and  most  powerful  in  the  world,  but  also 
the  champions  of  liberty,  propagators  of  civiliza- 
tion, and  sponsers  of  Christ's  teachings,  to  the 
darkened  regions  of  earth. 

One's  mind  naturally  turns  back  to  Cromwell, 

with  upturned  eyes  disclaiming  the  renown  and 

glory  of  butchering  the  women,  men  and  children 

of  Drogheda,  informing  his  Parliament  and  his 

Heaven  that  all  the  glory  for  the  noble  work  was 

God's  alone.  It  is  the  Briton's  ingenious  way  of 
making  his  glory  work  for  him  at  double  com- 
pound interest,  by  the  ingenious  device  of  ten- 
dering it  to  his  Maker,  on  the  tacit  understanding 
(always  observed  among  gentlemen)  that  it  will 
be  handed  back  bigger — while  the  world  at  the 
same  time  swells  it  still  more,  by  admiration  of 
his  wondrous  humility.  England's  sword  is  still 
wielded  by  Cromwell ;  and  in  England's  voice  his 

135 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

voice  yet  speaks.  In  the  English  soul  Cromwell 
never  dies. 

Lord  Salisbury,  referring  to  the  innumerable 
wars  of  extermination  upon  the  petty  tribes  of 
India,  said,  "They  are  but  the  bloody  foam  on  the 
crest  of  the  advancing  tide  of  British  civilization." 

Oh!  Civilization,  what  British  blessings  are 
committed  in  thy  name  1 


136 


4 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  PARLIAMENTARY  UNION  OF 

IRELAND  WITH  BRITAIN 

The  simple  American  view  of  Ireland's  relations 
with  England  was  well  illustrated  recently  by 
the  Editor  of  a  leading  review  when,  in  explain- 
ing away  (for  his  readers'  benefit)  my  showing 
of  Ireland's  right  to  independent  nationhood,  he 
informed  his  public  that,  in  1800,  Irishmen  volun- 
tarily resigned  their  own  Irish  Parliament,  and 
eagerly  united  with  England. 

Let  us  see. 

Although  Ireland  was  officially  conquered  to 
Britain  centuries  before,  the  Island  was  alleged 
to  have  a  Parliament  of  its  own,  under  the  Brit- 
ish Crown,  up  to  the  year  1800. 

It  was,  of  course,  a  Parliament  of,  and  for,  the 
British  in  Ireland.  The  mere  Irish  had  no  say 
in  it — except  for  an  insignificantly  brief  period. 
Had  no  right  even  to  vote  for  a  member  of  it.  It 
was  not  considered  that  they  whose  land  this  was, 
and  who  constituted  six-sevenths  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  land,  could  presume  to  take  even  the 

137 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

humblest  part  in  governing  their  own  country. 
The  Parliament  was  for  half  a  million  British  in 
Ireland — to  hold  three  million  Irish  in  subjection. 
Moreover,  of  the  300  members,  only  72  were  real- 
ly elected.  Three-fourths  of  its  members  were 
just  appointed  by  the  Borough  owners,  the  Brit- 
ish owners  who  owned  Irish  towns. 

I  called  it  an  alleged  Parliament.  It  was  only 
at  rare  intervals  that  the  Anglo-Irish  who  owned 
and  ran  this  Parliament  dared  assert  their  right 
to  make  it  a  Parliament  in  reality,  as  well  as  in 
name.  For  centuries  it  was  held  in  the  strangle- 
hold of  Poyning's  Law — a  law  which  forbade  it 
to  initiate  any  legislation — only  gave  it  liberty 
to  legislate  under  the  direction  and  command  of 
the  English  Parliament — to  pass  into  law  what- 
ever the  English  Parliament  recommended — and 
tu  refrain  from  legislating  upon  all  things  that 
the  English  Parliament  forbade  it  to  legislate 
upon. 

Under  this  state  of  things  naturally  Ireland's 
w  oes  increased  with  the  years.  Just  before  the 
Anglo-Irish  Parliament  took  heart  to  shake  from 
its  shoulders  its  Old  Man  of  the  Sea,  the  English 
Parliament  which  paralyzed  it,  Hely  Hutchinson, 
speakinof  in  the  Irish  House  of  Commons  (in 
1779)  said:     "Can  the  history  of  any  other  fruit- 

138 


THE  PARLIAMENTARY  UNION 

ful  country  on  the  globe,  enjoying  peace  for 
eighty  years,  and  not  visited  by  plague  or  pestil- 
ence, produce  so  many  recorded  instances  of  the 
poverty  and  the  wretchedness,  of  the  reiterated 
want  and  misery  of  the  lower  order  of  people. 
There  is  no  such  example  in  ancient  or  modern 
story." 

In  1782,  when  Britain's  hands  were  filled  with 
an  American  problem,  Henry  Grattan  and  the 
great  army  of  Ireland's  Volunteers,  100,000 
strong,  demanded  the  independence  of  their  Par- 
liament. And  as  they  had  in  their  hands,  when 
making  the  request,  a  hundred  thousand  muskets 
their  request  was  graciously  granted.  During 
the  succeeding  years,  this  Anglo-Irish  Parlia- 
ment, acting  independently  of  the  British  Parli- 
ament, was  enabled  to  do  wonderful  things  for 
the  restoration  of  Ireland's  commerce  and  man- 
ufactures. Many  of  the  disabilities  of  the  Irish 
Catholics,  too,  were,  under  it,  removed — and  an 
Irishman  was  acknowledged  to  have  some  citizen 
rights. 

But,  it  did  not  suit  England's  book  to  have  any 
body  of  people  in  Ireland,  even  their  own  Anglo- 
Irish  kin,  running  Ireland  with  profit  to  Ireland 
—  and  consequently  a  curtailment  of  English 
profit.    So,  the  mistake  must  be  corrected.    And 

139 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

the  best  way  to  correct  it  was  bodily  to  remove 
the  cause  of  the  trouble.  Parliament,  both  in 
reality  and  in  name,  must  be  taken  from  Ireland 
altogether.  So,  Prime  Minister  Pitt  of  England 
conspired  with  his  good  instruments,  Cornwallis, 
Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  and  Castlereagh,  the 
Irish  Secretary,  to  attain  the  desired  end.  For 
this  splendidly  corrupt  object  Pitt  fortunately 
had,  in  Cornwallis  and  Castlereagh,  a  pair  of 
splendidly  corrupt  tools. 

To  undermine  the  prestige  of  the  Irish  Parlia- 
ment and  prove  its  incompetence  for  governing 
Ireland,  they  first  goaded  the  Irish  people  into  a 
premature  rebellion — by  such  methods  as  those 
described  by  Lord  Moira.  And  they  then 
launched  their  campaign  for  giving  to  the  Eng- 
lish Parliament  the  sole  right  of  directly  govern- 
ing this  ungovernable  Island. 

That  the  Anglo-Irish  inhabitants  of  the  Island 
would  not  easily  yield  their  right  Pitt  and  his 
instruments  knew  well.  But  that  a  large  portion 
of  their  representatives  was  purchasable,  they 
divined.  So  they  set  themselves  enthusiastically 
to  the  congenial  work  of  bribing  and  debasing 
right  and  left,  and  buying  men's  souls. 

Lies,  perjury,  and  fraud  were  the  British  stock- 
in-trade  during  all  of  Britain's  connection  with 

140 


THE  PARLIAMENTARY  UNION 

Ireland.  But  there  was  never  another  period  in 
which  so  much  baseness  was  crowded  into  so 
little  time  as  now,  when  they  were  debasing  their 
own  kin  and  robbing  them  of  their  "rights."  No 
other  scandal  of  British  administration,  before  or 
since,  ever  equalled  this  one  of  buying  the  Union. 
The  immediate  chief  instruments,  Cornwallis  and 
Castlereagh,  were  probably  no  worse  than  any 
other  English  administrators  in  Ireland — only 
that  this  large  job  gave  them  an  exceptional  op- 
portunity to  distinguish  themselves. 

Castlereagh  indeed  partly  redeemed  himself 
by  living  to  cut  his  throat. 

Cornwallis,  through  all  the  vile  business,  took 
the  superior  stand  of  the  hypocrite  who  thinks  he 
conceals  his  hypocrisy  beneath  the  cloak  of 
frankness.  He  writes  to  a  friend,  "My  occupa- 
tion is  of  the  most  unpleasant  nature,  bargaining 
and  jobbing  with  the  most  corrupt  people  under 
Heaven"  (the  Anglo-Irish).  •'I  despise  and  hate 
myself  for  ever  engaging  in  such  dirty  work."  In 
another  place  he  confesses  that  he  is  ''involved 
in  this  dirty  business  beyond  all  bearing." 

The  people  were  wheedled,  coaxed,  threatened, 
and  bribed,  into  signing  petitions  in  favor  of 
Union  with  England.  Barrington  tells  us  that, 
under  promise  of  pardon,  felons  in  the  jails  were 

141 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

got  to  sign  the  Union  petition.  Everyone  hold- 
ing a  government  job  in  the  country  had  not  only 
to  sign  the  petition  himself,  but  was  compelled 
to  make  his  relatives  and  the  relatives  of  their 
lelatives  sign  it  likewise. 

Not  merely  those  who  held  positions  under 
the  government  were  required  to  do  this;  but  to 
every  man  who  hoped  or  dreamt  of  ever  stand- 
ing chance  of  a  position  under  the  government, 
it  was  plainly  intimated  that  he  and  his  relatives' 
relatives  must  become  petitioners.  Mixed  bribes 
and  threats  were  scattered  over  the  land  like  seed 
com — falling  upon,  sticking  to,  and  germinating 
in  thousands  upon  thousands  of  every  rank  from 
the  public  hangman  all  the  way  up  to  the  Arch- 
bishop of  the  Established  Church. 

The  pro-British  historian,  Lecky,  says,  "Ob- 
scure men  in  unknown  political  places  were  dis- 
missed because  they  or  some  of  their  relatives 
declined  to  support  it."  He  says,  "The  whole 
force  of  Government  patronage  in  all  branches 
was  steadily  employed-  The  formal  and  author- 
itative announcement  was  made,  that,  though 
defeated  Session  after  Session  and  Parliament 
after  Parliament — the  act  of  Union  would  al- 
ways be  reintroduced — and  that  support  of  it 
woald  hereafter  be  considered  the  main  test  by 

143 


THE  PARLIAMENTARY  UNION 

which  all  claims  to  government  favor  would  be 
determined.'* — ^''Everything  in  the  government  of 
the  crown  in  Ireland,"  Lecky  further  states,  "in 
the  church,  in  the  army,  in  the  law,  in  the  rev- 
enue, was  uniformly  and  steadily  devoted  to  the 
single  purpose  of  carrying  the  Union.  From  the 
great  noblemen  who  were  bought  for  marquis- 
ates  and  ribands;  from  the  (Protestant)  Arch- 
bishop of  Cashel  who  agreed  to  support  the  Union 
on  being  promised  the  reversion  of  the  See  of 
Dublin  and  a  seat  in  the  Imperial  House  of 
Lords,  the  virus  of  corruption  extended  and  de- 
scended through  every  rank  and  title,  and  satur- 
ated the  political  system,  including  even  crowds 
of  obscure  men  who  had  it  in  their  power  to  as- 
sist or  obstruct  addresses  on  the  subject.*' 

Men  who  dared  be  independent  and  stand  for 
their  rights,  were  hounded  and  persecuted  and 
dismissed  from  office.  Even  the  highest  in  rank, 
such  as  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  and  a 
Prime  Sergeant  and  Privy  Chancellor,  were 
kicked  out  for  daring  to  deny  England's  divine 
right  to  do  wrong. 

Men  who  refused  to  be  bribed  were  forced  out 
of  their  seats  in  the  Irish  Parliament  by  every 
dirty  means  known  to  dirty  men.  Th«ir  own 
instruments,  their  own  official  aides,  even,  were 

M3 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

put  into  office  and  put  into  Parliament  for  the 
openly  avowed  purpose  of  voting  away  Ireland's 
rights.  Englishmen  who  never  before  had  given 
any  thought  to  Ireland,  were  actually  imported 
to  sit  as  Irish  members  of  Parliament — and  vote 
away  Ireland's  Parliament  to  England. 

Some  of  these  latter  rascals  never  saw — some- 
times hardly  knew — the  name  of  the  Irish  Bor- 
ough for  which  they  sat.  When  one  of  them,  one 
day,  presented  himself  at  the  English  House  of 
Parliament  and  requested  some  privilege  that 
was  of  courtesy  accorded  there  to  members  of 
the  Irish  Parliament,  he  was  asked  for  what  Irish 
Borough  he  sat.  "By  Heaven,"  he  replied,  "the 
name  of  the  devilish  place  'as  escaped  me. — But 
if  you  bring  me  the  Irish  Directory  I  believe  I 
can  pick  it  out." 

They  overawed  patriotic  people  who  ventured 
to  meet  any  protest  against  the  proposed  Union. 
Barrington  relates  how,  on  the  occasion  of  an 
Anti-Union  meeting  in  King's  County,  Darley, 
the  High  ShcriflF,  and  Major  Rogers  (acting  of 
course  under  instructions  from  Dublin  Castle) 
placed  two  six  pounders,  charged  with  grape 
shot,  opposite  the  Court-house  where  the  meet- 
ing was  being  held — bringing  England's  logic  to 
bear  on  the  misguided  ones  who  thought  they 

M4 


THE  PARLIAMJiiN'TARY  UNION 

could  better  know  than  England,  what  was  for 
Ireland's  benefit. 

The  Habeas  Corpus  Act  was  suspended. 

Martial  law  was  proclaimed. 

England  stationed  in  Ireland,  126,000  soldiers. 

All   constitutional   guarantee   was   annulled. 

The  use  of  torture  was  frequently  availed  of. 

Meetings  of  the  people  were  dispersed  by  mil- 
itary force. 

Offices  and  commands  were  trafficked  in. 

Every  foul  devise  that  the  most  ingeniously 
mean-minded  tools  could  contrive  was  employed 
against  Irish  liberty — or  Anglo-Irish  liberty. 

And  by  use  of  all  conceivable  and  inconceiv- 
able mean  devices  they  managed,  at  length,  to 
secure  a  bare  majority  in  favor  of  the  Union — 
162  out  of  303  members.  One  hundred  and  six- 
teen of  these  162  were  their  own  salaried  tools — 
placemen. 

They  carried  their  "Union."  It  has  been  stated 
that  as  much  as  eight  thousand  pounds  was  paid 
for  one  vote.  Henry  Grattan  is  authority  for  it 
that,  of  those  who  voted  in  favor  of  the  Union 
with  England,  not  more  than  seven  were  un- 
bribed.  Cornwallis  had  no  illusions  about  the 
quality  of  the  men  whom  he  purchased — knew 
rght  well  that  they  could  be  just  as  faithless  to 

145 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

him,  despite  his  gold,  as  they  were  to  their 
adopted  country,  despite  their  duty.  He  wrote, 
"1  believe  that  half  of  our  majority  would  be  as 
much  delighted  as  any  of  our  opponents,  if  the 
measure  could  be  defeated." 

Place,  title,  and  gold,  were  the  inducements 
for  sacrificing  Ireland  at  England's  bidding.  As 
reward  for  good  work  done — or  to  be  done — 
twenty-eight  Irish  peerages  were  created.  Six 
Irish  peers  got  English  peerages.  Twenty  Irish 
peers  were  elevated  in  rank.  New  and  lucrative 
jobs,  offices,  government  appointments,  were  cre- 
ated— for  bestowal  on  those  who  rendered  "serv- 
ices." 

In  those  days  the  boroughs  in  Irelana  were 
"owned"  by  Lordly  proprietors  who  put  in  for 
them  such  puppet  members  of  Parliament  as 
they  pleased.  In  1782  out  of  300  members,  only 
y2  were  really  elected — and  of  course  only  one- 
seventh  of  the  people  in  Ireland  (the  British 
portion)  got  a  chance  at  electing  those.  This 
ownership  came  to  be  recognized  by  law !  And 
to  compensate  eighty  titled  Borough  owners  in 
Ireland  (who  owned  one  hundred  and  sixty  mem- 
bers) an  act  was  passed  appropriating  for  them 
£1,260,000 — being  at  the  rate  of  about  £8,000 
for  each  member. 

146 


THE  PARLIAMENTARY  UNION 

And,  crowning  joke  of  all  the  grim  jokes  played 
upon  Ireland  by  England,  this  million  and  quar- 
ter for  greasing  the  groove  down  which  Ireland's 
Parliament  was  to  be  skidded  to  England^was 
added  to  the  Irish  National  Debt! 
'  Lord  Ely  who  had  at  first  been  opposed  to  the 
L'nion,  but  came  finally  to  see  the  light  and  voted 
for  it,  received  £45,000  of  this  for  his  Boroughs. 

These  moneys  were  paid  as  "compensation" 
for  "disturbance"  caused,  or  to  be  caused,  or  in 
danger  of  being  caused,  by  the  Union.  And  not 
only  Anglo  Irishmen  but  likewise  every  pocket- 
picking  Englishman  and  hungry  Scotchman 
who  could  get  near  it,  fought  and  struggled  and 
mauled  one  another,  for  the  chance  of  getting 
a  hand  in  the  Compensation  bag. 

Barrington  records  that  even  the  necessary 
woman  of  the  English  Privy  Council  asked  "com- 
pensation" from  Ireland  for  the  extra  trouble 
which  the  influx  of  Irish  Privy  Cooncellors  would 
cause  in  her  department! 

And  the  Lord  Lieutenant's  official  rat  catcher 
iasisted  on  the  right  to  get  his  paw  in  the  bag 
a«  compensation  for  **decrease  of  employment." 
Why  the  Union  with  England  should  affect  this 
gentleman's  employment  is  not  stated — ^but  it 
is  easy  to  suppose  that  he  foresaw  the  certainty 

M7 


IRELAND'S     CASE 

of  droves  of  British  rats  quitting  the  sinking 
ship. 

Daniel  O'Connell  once  said,  that  he  could  not, 
under  Heaven,  apprehend  how  it  was  that  they 
forgot  ta  charge  against  Ireland  the  price  of  the 
razor  with  which  Castlereagh  afterwards  cut  his 
throat. 

And  this  is  the  wonderful  story  of  Ireland's 
voluntary  and  eager  Union  with  England.  It  is 
a  fair  illustration  of  England's  nice  honor,  clean 
handedness,  clean  mindedness,  in  dealing  with 
the  island  that  was  and  is  "dependent  on  and 
protected  by  England." 

The  carrying  of  the  Union  the  reader  sees,  re- 
flected nearly  as  much  credit  upon  England's 
nice  honor  as  did  the  Treaty  of  Limerick  upon 
the  pledged  faith  and  honor  of  the  British  crown. 


148 


CHAPTER  X. 
OUR  ENGLISH  LAND  LAWS. 

In  Ireland  we  had  not  the  Feudal  System 
v<hich  obtained  in  England  and  in  Continental 
countries.  Our  lands  were,  practically  speaking, 
the  common  property  of  the  Chief  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  clan. 

When  England  had  succeeded  in  killing  off  or 
banishing  the  Chiefs,  to  English  landlords  were 
granted  the  stolen  lands.  And  such  members  of 
the  clan  as  still  survived  and  were  permitted  to 
live  as  "tenants"  upon  their  lands  had  to  begin 
paying  a  tribute  called  "rent"  to  the  British  over- 
lords.    They  were  at  once  reduced  to  serfdom. 

The  Irish  "tenants"  were  not  only  morally 
owners  of  the  lands,  but  under  the  ovcrlordship 
of  their  British  landlords  they  still  bought  and 
sold  the  lands  among  themselves.  It  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  note  that  in  Ireland  the 
landlord  took  no  part  in  improving  the  land,  or 
in  putting  up  buildings  upon  it.  He  did  abso- 
lutely nothing  but  sit  down  in  his  Irish  castle, 
or  his  London  Club,  or  Continental  Gambling 
Hell,  and  accept  his  rents.  The  rule  for  rent- 
fixing  was  that  the  tenant  should  be  made  to  pay 

149 


IRELAND'S     CASE 

from  tilt  lands  every  penny  that  could  possibly 
be  squeezed  out  of  him.  If  he  was  foolish 
enough  to  drain  and  improve  his  land,  and  thus 
make  it  yield  a  better  crop,  his  rent  was  immedi- 
ately raised — because  he  was  now  able  to  pay 
more.  This  vile  system  of  penalizing  industry 
killed  ambition  in  the  serf's  soul.  If  he  could 
wring  even  the  most  wretched  living  from  his 
lands,  after  paying  the  extortionate  rent,  the  dis- 
heartened tenant  had  to  be  fatalistically  content. 
His  lot,  throughout  the  more  barren  portion  of 
Ireland,  was  wretched  beyond  description. 

Swift,  in  his  day,  was  forced  to  cry  out, 
"Rents  are  squeezed  out  of  the  clothes  and 
dwellings,  the  blood  and  vitals  of  the  tenants, 
who  live  worse  than  English  beggars." 

If  the  tenant  failed  in  his  efforts  to  raise  the 
rent  by  hook  or  crook  (and  in  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  cases  he  raised  it  not  from  his  land,  but 
from  outside  sources,  often  emigrating  to  Eng- 
land, Scotland  and  America  for  the  purpose)  or 
if  the  landlord  wanted  the  land  for  some  favorite, 
or  if  the  tenant  refused  to  give  his  labor  free  to 
the  landlord,  disobeyed  or  otherwise  displeased 
the  landlord,  or  broke  one  of  the  many  tyran- 
nical "rules  of  the  estate,"  he  got  notice  to  quit — 
was  evicted  from  the  land  that  he  owned,  from 
th«  house  that  he  or  his  forefathers  had  raised — 
kit  home  was  tumbled  down  and  he  and  his  fam- 

150 


OUR  ENGLISH  LAND  LAWS 

ily  were  cast  upon  the  road  (without,  of  course, 
any  penny  of  compensation),  there  to  starve  or 
die. 

The  brutal  "rules  of  the  estate"  often  almost 
forbade  the  tenant  to  breathe  without  the  land- 
lord's permission.  On  many  estates  the  tenant 
dare  not,  under  penalty  of  eviction,  marry,  or 
permit  any  of  his  family  to  marry,  without  a  li- 
cense from  the  landlord's  Agent.  The  tenant  had 
to  j^ive  to  the  landlord,  the  Agent,  and  the  bailiff, 
all  the  free  labor  that  they  chose  to  demand.  On 
many  estates,  the  tenant  was  forbidden  to  keep 
a  lodger,  to  harbor  a  visitor,  to  give  a  night's 
shelter  to  a  beggar,  or  to  any  homeless  one.  On 
some  estates  the  tenant  was  forbidden  to  har- 
bor even  a  relative.  Butt  in  his  "The  Irish  Land 
and  the  Irish  People,"  instances  the  case  of  a 
widow  being  evicted  for  the  crime  of  having 
brought  a  widowed  daughter  to  live  with  her. 

The  landlord  would  not  have  on  his  estate  any 
such  criminal  hospitality.  Because  it  encouraged 
pauperdom — for  which  he  should  have  to  pay  his 
share  in  poor-tax.  And,  these  people  had  no 
right  to  squander  on  worthless  vagabonds,  money 
that  were  better  employed  trying  to  keep  the  He- 
brew wolf  from  their  Lord's  door. 

To  offer  shelter  and  share  of  their  bread  to  the 
wretched  being,  or  family,  that  their  landlord  had 
caal  ovt,  was  Mpecially  to  imvitc  their  own  deatk 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

sentence.  As  illustrating  this,  let  me  quote  from 
A.  M.  Sullivan's  "New  Ireland,"  the  case  of 
the  trial  before  Chief  Baron  Pigott  of  some  teur 
ants  who  were  accused  of  the  manslaughter  of 
a  little  boy — the  manslaughter  being  caused  by 
their  having  forcibly  expelled  him  from  their 
house,  and  let  him  die  of  exposure — under  terror 
of  being  themselves  expelled  for  violating  the 
"rules  of  the  estate."  The  happening  occurred 
on  the  Kerry  estate  of  Marquis  of  Lansdowne. 
The  orphan  boy  was  Denis  Shea,  twelve  years 
old. 

"His  mother  at  one  time  held  a  little  dwelling 
from  which  she  was  expelled.  His  father  was 
dead.  Plis  mother  had  left  him,  and  he  was 
alone  and  unprotected.  He  found  refuge  with 
his  grandmother,  who  held  a  little  farm,  from 
which  she  was  evicted  by  the  landlord  in  con- 
sequence of  her  harboring  this  poor  boy — as  the 
agent  of  the  property  had  given  public  notice 
to  the  tenantry  that  expulsion  from  their  farms 
would  be  the  penalty  inflicted  upon  them  if 
they  harbored  any  persons  having  no  residence 
on  the  estate.  These  cases,  not  of  eviction,  but 
cases  where  eviction  did  not  occur,  showed  that 
the  tenantry  were,  because  of  the  extraordinary 
powers  conferred  by  law  on  landlords,  in  such 
a  state  of  serfdom,  that  the  mother  could  not 
receive    her    daughter — that    the    grandmother 

15a 


OUR  ENGLISH  LAND  LAWS 

could  not  receive  her  own  grandchild  unless  that 
child  was  a  tenant  on  the  estate.  And  the  re- 
sult was  this,  that  the  poor  boy,  without  a  house 
to  shelter  him,  was  sought  to  be  forced  into 
the  house  of  a  relative  in  a  terrible  night  of 
storm  and  rain.  He  w^as  immediately  pushed 
out  again,  he  staggered  on  a  little,  fell  to  the 
ground,  and  the  next  morning  was  found  cold, 
stiff  and  dead.  The  persons  who  drove  the  poor 
boy  out  were  tried  for  the  ofTence  of  being  ac- 
cessories to  his  death;  and  their  defence  was 
that  what  they  did  was  done  under  the  terror 
of  'the  rule  of  the  estate'  and  that  they  meant 
no  harr."i  to  the  boy.  They  were  found  guilty 
of  manslaughter  and  sentenced." 

And  while  these  wretched  victims  of  the  "rule 
of  the  estate"  were  enjoying  jail,  the  framer  of 
the  rule,  the  boy's  real  murderer,  was  nonchal- 
antly throwing  his  dice  in  his  gambling  resort. 

Mitchell,  in  talking  of  the  evicting  horror, 
gives  a  terse  and  terrible  summary  of  the  hap- 
penings upon  one  estate  as  the  result  of  one 
eviction  crop: 

"At  an  eviction  in  1854,  on  a  property  under 
the  management  of  Marcus  Keane,  James  O'Gor- 
man,  one  of  the  tenants  evicted,  died  on  the  roaa- 
side.  His  wife  and  children  were  sent  to  the 
workhouse,  where  they  died  shortly  afterwards. 

**John  Corbet,  a  tenant  on  another  townland, 

^S3 


IRELAND'S     CASE 

was  evicted  by  the  same  agent.  He  died  on  the 
roadside.  His  wife  had  died  previous  to  the  evic- 
tion; his  ten  children  were  sent  into  the  work- 
house and  there  died. 

"Michael  McMahon,  evicted  at  the  same  time, 
was  dragged  out  of  bed,  to  the  roadside,  where 
he  died  of  want  the  next  day.  His  wife  died  of 
want  previous  to  the  eviction,  and  his  children, 
eight  in  number,  died  in  a  few  years  in  the  work- 
house." 

How  is  that  for  fruit  of  those  beneficent  Brit- 
ish laws  which  it  is  the  inestimable  privilege  of 
the  Irish  barbarians  to  live  under? 

And  be  it  remembered  not  only  did  England 
back  up  this  fearful  state  of  things  in  Ireland 
with  all  the  power  of  her  legislature  and  well- 
chosen  judiciary,  but  her  brave  troops,  in  all 
their  red  and  royal  glittering  splendor,  with  rifles 
and  bayonets,  marched  out  behind  the  landlord 
and  bailiflFs  to  the  noble  work  of  evicting  from 
their  hovels  these  miserable  people — and  took 
position  in  front  and  on  flank  of  the  wretched 
hovels  where  the  death  sentence — as  the  eviction 
was  usually  known — was  to  be  executed.  For 
at  the  beck  of  the  British  landlord,  the  British 
army  was  ever  held  in  readiness  to  lend  the  im- 
posing terrors  of  its  presence  at  the  committal 
of  these  awful  crimes  against  God  and  God's 
most  miserable  people. 

154 


OUR  ENGLISH  LAND  LAWS 

Foreigners  can  hardly  believe  that  earth's 
greatest  and  most  glorious  empire  could  so  dis- 
grace and  degrade  its  force  as  to  lend  them,  year 
after  year,  week  after  week,  day  after  day,  for 
exhibitions  that  would  be  ludicrous  if  they  were 
not  fraught  with  such  awful  consequence  to  the 
condemned,  who  were  thereby  losing  their  laud, 
their  home,  their  all — sometimes,  too,  their  rea- 
son and  their  life!  1  talk  of  what  I  mvself  have 
seen — what  who  in  Ireland  has  not  seen? 

To  convey  to  strangers  a  picture  of  what  an 
Irish  eviction  is  like,  1  shall  set  down  here  de- 
scriptions of  a  few  of  them  given  by  spectators. 
The  first  is  from  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  McNulty 
Bishop  of  Meath — and  is  copied  from  Mitchell : 

"In  the  very  first  year  of  our  ministry,  as  a 
missionary  priest  in  this  diocese,  we  were  wit- 
ness of  a  cruel  and  inhuman  eviction,  which  even 
still  makes  our  heart  bleed  as  often  as  we  allow 
ourselves  to  think  of  it. 

"Seven  hundred  human  beings  were  driven* 
from  their  homes  in  one  day,  and  set  adrift  on  the 
world,  to  gratify  the  whim  of  one  who,  before 
God  and  man,  probably  deserved  less  considera- 
tion than  the  last  and  least  of  them.  The  Crow- 
bar Brigade  employed  on  the  occasion  to  extin- 
guish the  hearth  fires  and  demolish  the  homes,  in- 
dustriously worked  at  their  awful  calling  until 
evening. 

155 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

"Then  an  incident  occurred  that  varied  the 
monotony  of  the  ghastly  work. — They  stopped 
suddenly,  and  recoiled  panic-stricken  from  two 
dwellings  which  they  were  directed  to  destroy 
with  the  rest.  A  frightful  typhus  fever  held 
those  houses  in  its  grasp,  and  had  already  brought 
pestilence  and  death  to  some  of  the  inmates. 
They  supplicated  the  agent  to  spare  these  houses 
a  little  longer;  but  the  agent  was  inexorable,  and 
insisted  that  they  also  should  be  levelled.  He 
ordered  a  large  winnowing-sheet  to  be  put  over 
the  beds  on  which  the  fever  victims  lay — fortu- 
nately, they  happened  to  be  delirious  at  the  time 
— and  then  directed  the  house  to  be  unroofed 
carefully  and  slowly,  because,  he  said,  he  very 
much  disliked  the  bother  of  a  coroner's  inquest. 
I  administered  the  Sacrament  of  the  Church  to 
four  of  these  fever  victims  next  day;  and,  save 
the  above-mentioned  winnowing-sheet,  there  was 
not  then  a  roof  nearer  to  tliem  than  the  canopy 
of  Heaven. 

"The  horrible  scenes  I  then  witnessed  I  must 
remember  all  my  life  long.  The  wailing  of  wom- 
en— the  screaming,  the  terror,  the  consternation 
of  children — the  speechless  agony  of  honest,  in- 
dustrious men — wrung  tears  of  grief  from  all  who 
saw  and  heard  them.  The  heavy  rains  that  usu- 
ally attend  the  autumnal  equinox  descended  in 
cold,  copious   showers    throughout    the    night, 

IS6 


OUR  ENGLISH  LAND  LAWS 

bringing  home  to  those  helpless  sufferers  the  aw- 
ful realities  of  their  condition. 

"I  visited  them  next  morning,  and  rode  from 
place  to  place  administering  to  them  what  com- 
fort and  consolation  I  could.  The  appearance 
of  men,  women,  and  children,  as  they  emerged 
from  the  ruins  of  their  former  homes — saturated 
with  rain,  blackened  and  besmeared  with  soot, 
revealed  in  every  member  cold  and  misery — pre- 
sented positively  the  most  appalling  spectacle  I 
ever  looked  on.  They  were  driven  from  the  land 
on  which  Providence  had  placed  them;  and,  in 
the  state  of  society  surrounding  them,  every  walk 
of  life  was  rigidly  closed  against  them.  What 
v/as  the  result?  After  battling  in  vain  with  pri- 
vation and  pestilence,  they  at  last  graduated  from 
the  workhouse  to  tiic  tomb ;  and  in  little  more 
than  three  years  nearly  one-fourth  of  them  lay 
quietly  in  their  graves." 

The  scenes  and  happenings  here  described  by 
Dr.  McNulty  were  only  such  as  were  become 
commonplace  in  every  corner  of  Ireland. 

For,  be  it  noted  that,  sometimes,  70,000  crea- 
tures in  one  year  underwent  the  foregoing  fate. 

The  next  I  give  is  a  description  of  the  great 
clearance  at  Glenveigh,  in  my  own  County  of 
Donegal. 

There  the  landlord,  Adair,  in  a  fit  of  spite 
against  his  tenants,  determined  to  clear  every 

157 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

miierable  soul  hi  tht  countryside  from  thcSr 
homt  and  their  lands,  and  throw  them  as  beg- 
gars on  the  beggared  world  around  them. 

"It  was  early  in  February,  that  the  poor  peo- 
ple first  knew  of  the  tragic  fate  that  awaited 

them;  some  realized  its  terrible  import,  but  the 
majority  did  not.  In  that  remote  and  lonely 
legion,  they  had  never  heard  that  any  man  could 
possess  such  power — they  owed  no  rent;  they 
had  done  no  man  wrong.  In  a  couple  of  months 
a  large  force  of  police  and  soldiers,  with  tents 
and  baggage,  marched  on  Glenveigh,  and  on  the 
night  of  Sunday,  April  7,  had  closed  in  around 
the  place,  occupying  or  commanding  the  entranc- 
es or  passes.  Still  the  hapless  people,  in  fatal 
confidence,  slumbered  on.  In  the  early  morning 
of  Monday,  the  sight  of  the  red-coats  and  the  glit- 
tering bayonets  gave  the  signal  of  alarm,  and 
from  house  to  house,  and  hill  to  hill,  a  halloo  was 
sent  afar.  Soon  there  arpse  on  the  morning  air 
a  wail  that  chilled  even  the  sternest  heart,  and 
there  burst  from  the  women  and  children  a  cry 
of  agony  that  pierced  the  heavens." 

The  Derry  Standard,  the  Presbyterian  organ  o! 
the  Northwest,  reported  the  eviction.  A.  M.  Sul- 
livan in  "New  Ireland"  quotes  the  report.  Read  it, 
and  bless  the  benign  rule  that  God  grants  Ire^ 
land  th«  blessing  to  enjoy — and  the  benign  mhr 

lit 


OUR  ENGLISH  LAND  LAWS 

who  sends  his  gallant  war-heroes,  in  all  of  war's 
panoply,  to  help  an  Englishman  wreak  his  spite 
on  the  most  pitiable  of  God's  creatures. 

"The  first  eviction  was  one  peculiarly  distress- 
ing, and  the  terrible  reality  of  the  law  suddenly 
burst  in  surprise  on  the  spectators.  Having  ar- 
rived at  Lough  Barra,  the  police  were  halted,  and 
the  sheriff,  with  a  small  escort,  proceeded  to  the 
house  of  a  widow  named  McAward,  aged  60 
years,  living  with  whom  were  six  daughters  and 
a  son.  Long  before  the  house  was  reached,  loud 
cries  were  heard  piercing  the  air,  and  soon  the 
figures  of  the  poor  widow  and  her  daughters  were 
observed  outside  the  house,  where  they  gave 
vent  to  their  grief  in  strains  of  touching  agony. 
The  Agent's  men,  who  had  been  brought  from  a 
distance,  immediately  fell  to  levelling  the  house 
to  the  ground.  The  scene  then  became  indescrib- 
able. 

"The  bereaved  widow  and  her  daughters  were 
frantic  with  despair.  Throwing  themselves  on 
the  ground,  they  became  insensible,  and  burst 
out  in  the  old  Irish  wail — then  heard  by  many 
tor  the  first  time — ^their  terrifying  cries  resound- 
ing along  the  mountainside  for  many  miles.  They 
had  been  deprived  of  the  little  spot  dear  to  them 
with  associations  of  the  past — and  with  poverty 
before  them,  and  only  the  blue  sky  to  shelter 
them,  they  naturally  lost  all  hope,  and  those  who 

159 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

witnessed  their  agony  will  never  forget  the  sight 
Every  heart  was  touched,  and  tears  of  sympathy 
flowed  from  many.  In  a  short  time  we  with- 
drew from  the  scene,  leaving  the  widow  and  her 
orphans  surrounded  by  a  small  group  of  neigh- 
bors who  could  only  express  their  sympathy  for 
the  homeless,  without  possessing  the  power  to 
relieve  them. 

"During  that  and  the  next  two  days  the  entire 
holdings  in  the  lands  mentioned  above  were  vis- 
ited, and  it  was  not  until  an  advanced  hour  on 
Wednesday  the  evictions  were  finished.  In  all 
the  evictions  the  distress  of  the  poor  people  was 
equal  to  that  depicted  in  the  first  case.  Dearly 
did  they  cling  to  their  homes  till  the  last  moment, 
and  while  the  male  portion  bestirred  themselves 
in  clearing  the  houses  of  what  scanty  furniture 
*  they  contained,  the  women  and  children  remained 
within  till  the  sheriff's  bailiff  warned  them  out, 
and  even  then  it  was  with  difficulty  they  could 
tear  themselves  away  from  the  scenes  of  happier 
.  days.  In  many  cases  they  bade  an  affectionate 
adieu  to  their  former  peaceable,  but  now  desolate, 
homes.  One  old  man,  near  the  four  score  years 
and  ten,  on  leaving  his  house  for  the  last  time, 
reverently  kissed  the  doorposts,  with  all  the  im- 
passioned tenderness  of  an  emigrant  leaving  his 
native  land.  His  wife  and  children  followed  his 
example.     And  in  agonized  silence  the  afflicted 

i6o 


OUR  ENGLISH  LAND  LAWS 

family  stood  by  and  watched  the  destruction  of 
their  dwelling. 

"In  another  case  an  old  man,  aged  90,  who  was 
lying  ill  in  bed,  was  carried  out  of  the  house.  In 
nearly  every  house  there  was  someone  far  ad- 
vanced in  age — many  of  them  tottering  to  the 
grave — while  the  sobs  of  the  helpless  children 
took  hold  of  every  heart.  When  dispossessed 
the  families  grouped  themselves  on  the  ground, 
beside  the  ruins  of  their  late  homes,  having  no 
place  of  refuge  near.  The  dumb  animals  refused 
to  leave  the  wallsides.  and  in  some  cases  were 
with  difficulty  rescued  from  the  falling  timbers. 

"As  night  set  in,  the  scene  became  fearfully 
sad.  Passing  along  the  base  of  the  mountain 
the  spectators  might  have  observed,  near  to 
each  house,  its  former  inmates  crouching  around 
a  turf  fire,  close  by  a  hedge ;  and  as  the  drizzling 
rain  poured  upon  them  they  found  no  cover,  and 
were  entirely  exposed  to  it;  but  only  sought  to 
warm  their  famished  bodies.  Many  of  them  were 
but  miserably  clad,  and  on  all  sides  the  greatest 
desolation  was  apparent,  I  learned  afterwards 
that  the  great  majority  of  them  lay  out  all  night, 
either  behind  the  hedges  or  in  a  little  wood  which 
skirts  the  lake ;  they  had  no  other  alternative.  I 
believe  many  of  them  resorted  to  the  poorhousc. 
There,  these  starving  people  remain  on  the  cold 
bleak  mountains,  no  one  caring  for  them  whether 

161 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

they  live  or  die.      'Tis  horrible  to  think  of,  but 
more  horrible  to  behold." 

It  is  wonderful  to  contemplate  the  patience  of 
the  wrathful  God  who  from  His  Heavens  gazing 
down  upon  such  blaguardism,  yet  holds  His 
hands  from  blasting  with  His  bolts  the  canting 
hypocrites  who  are  incessantly  telling  Him  how 
they,  the  holiest  and  greatest  of  His  people, 
glorify  Him  by  carrying  His  Gospel  of  love  and 
joy  to  the  outer  barbarians  whom  they  take  into 
their  Empire  to  civilize  and  Salvationize ! 

Later  some  friends  in  Australia  subscribed  a 
fund,  and  sent  for  these  beneficiaries  of  British 
law — thanks  to  the  untiring  efforts  of  A.  M.  Sul- 
livan. 

Mr.  Sullivan  says,  "The  poor  people  were 
sought  out  and  collected.  Some  by  this  time  had 
sunk  under  their  sufferings.  One  man  named 
Bradley  had  lost  his  reason  under  the  shock; 
other  cases  were  equally  as  heartrending.  There 
were  old  men  who  would  keep  wandering  over 
the  hills  in  view  of  their  ruined  homes,  full  of  the 
idea  that  some  day  Adair  might  let  them  return  ; 
but  who  at  last  had  to  be  borne  to  the  workhouse 
hospital  to  die.** 

What  followed  is  too  touchingly  beautiful  to 
omit — one  of  the  most  deeply  touching  in  the 
records  of  nineteenth  century  Ireland.  And  the 
man,  friend  or  enemy  of  our  race,  who  can  read 

x&i 


OUR  ENGLISH  LAND  LAWS 

to  tlie  end  of  this  chapter  with  heart  unmoved 
and  eye  undimmed,  is  a  creature  to  be  commiser- 
ated. 

"A  strange  mixture  of  joy  and  sadness!**  says 
Mr.  Sullivan.  "The  survivors  heard  that  their 
friends  in  Australia  had  paid  their  passage 
money.  On  the  day  they  were  to  set  out  for  the 
railway  station,  en  route  for  Liverpool,  a  strange 
scene  was  witnessed.  The  calvalcade  was  ac- 
companied by  a  concourse  of  neighbors  and 
sympathizers.  They  had  to  pass  within  a  short 
distance  of  the  ancient  burial  ground  where  the 
*rude  forefathers  of  the  valley  slept.*  They  halt- 
ed, turned  aside,  and  proceeded  to  the  grass- 
grown  cemetery.  Here,  in  a  body,  they  knelt, 
throwing  themselves  on  the  graves  of  their  rela- 
tives, wnich  they  reverently  kissed,  again  and 
ag^ain,  and  raised  for  the  last  time  the  Irish 
caoine,  or  funeral  wail.  Some  of  them  pulled  tufts 
of  the  grass,  which  they  placed  in  their  bosoms, 
and  then  resumed  their  way  on  the  road  to  exile." 

In  Derry,  the  port  of  embarkation,  dinner  was 
provided  for  them.  The  Presbyterian  Derry 
Standard,  in  its  report,  said : 

"When  dinner  was  concluded.  Rev.  Mr. 
M'Fadden,  amidst  the  most  solemn  stillness, 
briefly  addressed  the  assemblage;  and  it  was  a 
most  touching  sight.  He  spoke  in  the  Gaelic 
tongue ;  the  language  of  their  homes  and  firesides, 

163 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

ere  Adair  had  levelled  the  one,  and  qnenched  the 
other,  forever.     As  the  young  priest  spoke,  his 
own  voice  full  of  emotion,  the  painful  silence  all 
around  soon  became  broken  by  the  sobs  of  wom- 
en, and  tears  flowing  down  many  a  cheek.     He 
reminded  them  that  this  was  the  very  last  meal 
they  would  partake  of  on  Irish  soil ;  that  in  a  few 
hours  they  would  have  left  Ireland  forever.     He 
spoke  of  their  old  homes   amidst   the    Donegal 
hills,  of  the  happy  days  passed  in  the  now  silent 
and  desolate  valley  of  Derryveigh;  of  the  peace 
and  happiness  that  they  had  known  then,  because 
they  were  contented,  and  were  free  from  tempta- 
tions and  angers  of  which  the  busy  world  was 
full.     He  reminded  them  of  their  simple  lives — 
the  Sunday  Mass,  so  regularly  attended ;  the  con- 
fession; the  consolation  of  faith.     Many  a  cheek 
was  wet  as  he  alluded  to  how  they  would    be 
missed  by  the  priest  whose  flock  they  were.  But, 
most  of  all,  their  lot  was  sorrowful  in  the   fact 
that,  while  other  emigrants    left    behind    them 
parents  and  relatives  over  whom  the  old  roftree 
remained,  they,  alas !  left  theirs  under  no  shelter, 
in  no  home — they  were  wanderers  and  outcasts, 
with  the  workhouse  for  a  last  resort.     But  (said 
he),  you  are  going  to  a  better  land,  a  free  coun- 
try, where  there  are  no  tyrants,  because  there  are 
no  slaves.    Friends  have  reached  out  their  hands 
to  you;  those  friends  await  you  on  the  shore  of 

164 


/ 


OUR  ENGLISH  LAND  LAWS 

that  better  land.  And  here,  too,  hi  this  city, 
hearts  equally  true  and  kindly  have  met  you.  Let 
your  last  work  on  Irish  ground  be  to  thank  the 
good  gentleman  who  now  stands  by  my  side,  Mr. 
Alexander  Sullivan. 

"And  now,  dear  brothers,  we  shall  be  depart- 
ing. Before  y-ou  take  your  foot  off  your  native 
land,  promise  me  here  that  you  will,  abr  e  all 
things,  be  faithful  to  your  God,  and  attend  to  your 
religious  duties,  under  whatever  circumstances 
you  may  be  placed.  (Sobs  and  cries  of  *Wc  will ! 
We  will!').  Never  neglect  your  night  and  morn- 
ing prayers,  and  never  omit  to  approach  the 
Blessed  Eucharist  at  least  at  Christmas  and  Eas- 
ter. And,  boys,  don't  forget  poor  old  Ireland. 
(Cries  of  'Never!  Never!  God  knows'). — Don't 
forget  the  old  people  at  home,  boys.  St^re  they 
will  be  counting  the  days  till  the  letter  comes 
from  you.  And  they  will  be  praying  for  you,  and 
we  will  all  pray  God  be  with  you." 

Ah  I  how  these  children  of  woe  in  Ireland,  and 
the  children  of  their  children  at  the  world's  four 
corners,  to  which  they  were  scourged  by  Eng- 
land, her  laws  and  her  k)rds,  should,  in  their  in- 
most souls,  cherish  and  revere  the  sublime  laws 
and  benign  rule  of  their  loving  protector,  Britain 
the  Chivalrous  I 


i«S 


CHAPTER  XI. 
THE  LAST  CENTURY 

Since  the  Irish  Parliament  was  purchased,  117 
years  ago,  and  Ireland  still  more  closely  gathered 
up  to  the  bosom  of  her  stepmother,  the  history 
of  the  island  may  be  written  in  three  words — 
lAXATION,  STARVATION,  EMIGRATION. 

Or  economically,  we  might  make  one  word  do 
for  it  all— RUINATION. 

In  the  first  quarter  century  after  the  Union,  al- 
most all  the  little  industries  that  remained  in 
Ireland  melted  away. 

The  period  since  has  been  marked  by  a  succes- 
sion of  famines,  the  direct  result  of  English  rule 
and  ruin.  The  trying  month  of  July,  during 
which  the  preceding  year's  food  crop  was  usually 
exhausted,  and  the  current  year's  crop  not  yet 
ready,  came  to  be  known,  in  the  Irish-speaking 
districts,  as  Mi  na  Sul  Siar — that  is,  the  Month 
of  the  Hollow  Eyes.  But  tens  of  thousands  bore 
the  hollow  eyes  from  January  to  January. 

Carlyle  asks,  "Has  Ireland  been  governed  in  a 
wise  and  loving  manner?  A  Government  and 
guidance  of  white  European  men  which  has  end* 
ed  in  perennial  hunger  of  potatoes  to  every  man 

x66 


THE  LAST  CENTURY 

extant,  ought  to  drop  a  veil  over  its  face  and 
walk  out  of  court  under  conduct  of  the  proper 
officers/'  s*' 

The  most  terrible  of  all  the  half  score  of  great 
famines  which  marked  the  last  century,  was  that 
oi  1846-1847.  At  the  beginning  of  that  awful 
famine,  when  people  were  already  dropping  and 
dying  by  the  wayside,  the  motherly  Government 
stubbornly  refused  to  close  the  ports  and  prevent 
the  shipping  of  corn  out  of  the  country.  The 
suffering  of  the  people  in  those  years  exceeded 
the  powers  of  description.  While  generous  ones 
at  the  ends  of  the  earth  were  sending  their  help 
to  the  stricken  onds^-^ven  to  Britain's  shame, 
the  Sultan  of  Turkey^  moved  to  pity  by  the  ter- 
rible happenings  in  Ireland,  sending  contribu- 
tion— British  officials  were  busy  denying  that 
there  was  any  more  suffering  or  any  more  famine 
than  usual — ^and  the  British  Parliament  was  aid- 
ing a  perishing  people  by  contributing  talk  with 
lavish  generosity. 

The  famished  subjects  of  this  great  British 
Government,  stricken  by  starvation  and  by  fam- 
ine fever,  were  dying  so  thick  and  fast,  and  leav- 
ing survivors  so  exhausted,  that  their  bodies  oft- 
entimes remained  unburied  for  weeks.  Then  only 
the  rats  of  the  land  flourished,  gorging  them- 
selves on  the  neglected  dead. 

In  this  fruitful  smiling  island,  sitting  in  the 

i«7 


IRELANiyS     CASE 

seas  contiguous  to  the  seat  of  the  world's  great- 
est and  richest  Empire — and  itself  a  part  of  that 
Empire,  and  taken  under  the  Empire's  special 
care — it  is  estimated  that  during  those  famine 
years  of  '46-47  almost  a  million  diod  of  starvation 
— died  in  the  houses,  in  the  fields,  on  the  high- 
rpads,  in  the  workhouses,  on  the  public  streets 
of  the  t-owns. 

And  the  vast  number  that  died  was  far  from 
competing  Ireland's  loss  by  that  famine. 

In  two  other  terrible  ways  it  did  dread  damage 
to  the  Irish  nation. 

In  the  first  place,  the  undermining  of  the 
physical  system  of  the  Irish  people  by  the  con- 
stant recurrence  of  these  famines,  and  especially 
the  radical  weakening  of  their  system  in  this  par- 
ticular famine,  is  probably  the  cause  of  the  tu- 
berculosis scourge  which  has  fastened  on,  and 
given  the  Irish  nation  an  unenviable  pro-emin- 
ence in  the  history  of  the  White  Plague. 

And  again,  in  those  terrible  years  the  people 
began  flocking  from  the  stricken  land  i/i  tens  and 
hundreds  of  thousands — to  America,  and  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth.  The  little  barys  of  Ireland 
were  in  those  years,  and  for  many  succeeding 
years,  pitifully  floating  out  human  cargoes  upon 
the  bosom  of  every  tide — till  within  five  years' 
time  about  a  million  despabing  refugees  had 
fled  from  Ireland. 

168 


THE  LAST  CENTURY 

And  in  the  famine  exodus  thousands  and  thou- 
sands earried  their  load  of  famine  fever  with 
them  aboard  the  little  ships  or  developed  fam- 
ine fever  on  the  voyage — and  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  them,  fleehig  from  Ireland  for  the 

promised  land  beyond  the  Sea,  never  saw  that 
land,  but  left  their  bones  to  whiten  on  the  Ocean 
bed. 

And  still  other  thousands  and  thousands 
reached  the  Promi«?''  Land  only  to  see  it,  and  die. 

Along  the  Canadian  Shore,  to  which  their  little 
ships  came,  the  famine-stricken  ones  were  quar- 
antined in  droves,  and  died  in  heaps,  and  in  piles 
were  buried. 

I  have  visited  a  Mttle  Island  at  the  mouth  of 
the  St.  John  River  in  the  company  of  an  old  man, 
a  doctor,  who  gave  me  a  harrowing  picture  of 
the  appearance  of  the  unfed,  unclad  creatures 
who  were  dumped  there  by  the  shipload  in  '46,  '47 
and  '48 — some  of  them,  he  said,  clad  in  straw — 
and  I  saw  the  great  furrows  which  mark  the 
trenches  in  which  myriads  of  them  were  buried. 

Six  thousand  of  these  poor  creatures  perished 
on  Gros  Island  in  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  Mon- 
treal Emigration  Bureau  estimated  that  the  banks 
of  the  St.  Lawrence,  from  Quebec  to  Port  Sarnia, 
were  dotted  with  the  graves  of  twenty  thousand 
Irish  emigrants,  victims  of  the  three-thousand- 

«69 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

mile-distant  famine,  which  they  foolishly  thought 
they  had  escaped. 

Of  certain  ninety  thousand  only,  of  the  emi- 
grants to  Canada  in  '47,  of  which  accurate  ac- 
count was  kept,  it  is  recorded  that  6,100  died  on 
the  voyage,  4,icx)  died  on  arrival,  5,200  died  in 
hospitals,  and  1,900  soon  died  in  the  towns  to 
which  they  repaired. 

Here  is  a  sample  of  the  reports  for  a  few  of 
the  individual  ships: 

The  Larch,  carrying  440  passengers,  had  108 
deaths.  The  Queen,  carrying  493  passengers,  had 
137  deaths.  The  Avon,  carrying  552  passengers, 
had  236  deaths.  The  Virginius,  carryiig  476 
passengers,  had  267  deaths. 

And  thus  was  the  flower  of  one  of  the  finest 
nations  on  the  face  of  the  earth  in  swaths  mowed 
down.  And  thus  in  wind-rows  did  they  wither 
from  off  the  earth — ^under  the  aegis  of  British 
rule.. 

The  famine  specter  was  then  aggravated  by 
the  emigration  specter.  From  that  time  forward 
emigration  from  Ireland  assumed  alarming  pro- 
portions. 

It  is  1700  years  since  the  old  Roman  Geogra- 
pher, Solinus,  descanted  upon  the  ideal  climate 
and  the  fruitful  soil  of  smiling  leme,  set  upon  the 
Western  waves,  lerne  can  still  boast  of  ideal 
dimate  and  fruitful  soil — ^yet  in  hundreds  of  thou- 
lands  its  children  have  been  fleeing  from  it,  as 

I/O 


THE  LAST  CENTURY 

from  a  doomed  land,  to  earth's  ends,  seeking  stis- 
tenance  which  should  be  plentiful  at  home — bttt 
tnat  the  British  Government  with  the  devastating 
hordes  of  its  officials,  hangers-on,  landlords, 
strangling  ramifications  and  ramificators  have 
been,  like  leeches,  sucking  to  the  last  drop  the 
country's  life-blood. 

Here  is  what  an  English  writer  who  visited  the 
scene  in  '45  was  constrained  to  confess:  "Nature 
does  her  duty.  The  land  is  fruitful  enough.  Man 
and  Nature  do  produce  abundantly.  The  Island 
is  full  and  overflowing  with  human  food.  But 
something  ever  interposes  between  the  hungering 
mouth  and  the  ample  banquet.  The  famished 
victim  of  a  mysterious  sentence  spreads  out  his 
hands  to  the  viands  which  his  own  industry  have 
placed  before  his  eyes;  but  no  sooner  are  they 
touched  than  they  fly.  The  decree  of  sic  vos  non 
nobis  condemns  him  to  toil  without  enjoyment. 
Social  atrophy  drains  oflF  the  vital  juices  of  the 
nation." 

Experts  have  pronounced  fruitful  Ireland  as 
capable  of  supporting  in  comfort  a  population  of 
twenty  million.  Today  less  than  four  and  a  half 
millions  cling  to  existence  there. 

Seventy  years  ago  Ireland  had  a  population  of 
almost  nine  million  souls.  At  the  natural  rate  of 
increase,  the  population  today  should  be  twenty 
million.    Yet,  through  oppression,  starvation,  and 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

emiuation,  the  population,  instead  of  being 
doubled  in  these  seventy  years,  has  been  halved. 
That  fact  alone  is  a  gauge  by  which  to  measure 
the  beneficence  of  British  rule  in  Ireland. 

And  the  poignancy  of  regret  felt  by  our  kind 
rulers  over  the  depopulation  they  caused  was 
very  well  voiced  by  the  London  Times,  when,  in 
1848,  writing  of  the  wholesale  emigration  then 
going  on,  it  exclaimed  triumphantly :  "They  are 
going!  the  Irish  are  going  with  a  vengeance! 
And  a  Celt  will  soon  be  as  rare  in  Ireland  as  a 
Red  Indian  on  the  shores  of  Manhattan!'' 

And  through  the  typically  British  Imperial 
Saturday  Review  of  November  28,  1863,  the  voice 
of  England  again  speaks.  Referring  to  these 
creatures  whom  the  brute-hearted  Briton  was 
scourging  from  the  land  of  tlieir  forefathers,  it 
howled  after  them,  "Departing  demons  of  assas- 
sinatioH  and  murder!  ...  So  complete  is 
the  rush  of  the  departing  marauders  that  silence 
rdgns  over  the  vast  solitude  of  Ireland.  .  .  . 
Just  as  civilization  gradually  supersedes  the  wild- 
er and  fiercer  creatures  by  man  and  cities,  so  de- 
civilization,  such  as  is  going  on  in  Ireland,  wipes 
otit  man  to  make  room  for  oxen.** 

When  England  lashes  her  conquered  ones  till 
every  square  inch  of  their  bodies  gives  a  gaping, 
quivering  wound,  such  is  the  salve  that  is  then, 
exttltant^,  rubbed  into  the  agonizing  wounds,  by 


THE  LAST  CENTURY 

the  propagator  of  Christianity  and  pioneer  of  cir- 

iiization. 

Under  British  Rule,  however,  there  are  two 
things  that  flourish  in  Ireland.  They  are  Public 
Debt  and  Taxation.  The  Tax-raising  industry  is 
the  only  healthy  and  progressive  one  that  the 
Island  knows.  But,  then,  it  is  remarkably  vig- 
orous. And  the  encouraging  thing  is  that  the 
worse  the  condition  of  the  country  grows  the 
more  merrily  and  the  faster  hum  the  wheels 
of  the  taxing  machine ;  and  the  more  light-heart- 
edly the  tax-master  sings  at  his  work. 

Ireland  was  found  to  be  a  convenient  kitchen 
garden  for  furnishing  useful,  unornamental  tax- 
supplies  whose  raising  in  England's  show-gar- 
den might  hurt  the  aesthetic  sense  of  the  English- 
man. When  an  English  lady,  visiting  Ireland 
in  Swift's  day,  said  to  the  Dean,  "What  a  splen- 
did climate  Ireland  has,"  the  Dean  replied,  "For 
the  Lord's  sake,  madam,  don't  tell  that  when  you 
go  back  to  England,  or  they'll  tax  it  on  us  1" 

Mrs.  Green  says :  "They  quartered  on  Irish  rev- 
enues all  pensioners  that  could  not  safely  be  pro- 
posed to  a  free  Parliament  in  England — mistress- 
es of  successive  kings  and  their  children ;  German 
relations  of  the  Hanovers ;  useful  politicians  cov- 
ered by  their  names;  a  queen  of  Denmark  ban- 
ished for  misconduct;  a  Sardinian  ambassador 
under  false  title.     About  six  hundred  thousand 

173 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

pounds  were  yearly  sent  over  to  England  for  ab- 
sentees' pensions,  annuities,  and  the  like." 

Just  watch  Ireland's  debt  grow  under  the  magic 
touch  of  a  mother's  hand : 

In  1795,  when  England  was  beginning  her 
machinations  for  taking  away  the  Irish  Parlia- 
ment, the  Irish  National  Debt  was  £3,000,000. 

In  1801,  when  England  had  finally  succeeded  in 
stealing  the  Parliament  from  Ireland — and  charg- 
ing to  Ireland  every  bribe  and  every  mean  ex- 
pense entailed  by  the  stealing — the  Irish  National 
Debt  was  £28,000,000 — had  multiplied  by  nine. 

In  181 7,  when  the  Irish  National  Debt  was 
finally  merged  with  the  British  National  Debt, 
the  Irish  debt  had  reached  £112,000,000.  It  had 
been  multiplied  by  four  in  the  sixteen  years  since 
the  Union.  (In  the  same  sixteen  years  the  Brit- 
ish Debt  had  only  increased  seventy-five  per 
cent.)  And  in  the  twenty-two  years  from  the 
lime  England  had  begun  contriving  for  the 
Union,  it  had  multiplied  by  thirty-seven! 

At  the  present  day  Ireland  is  privileged  to 
share  on  equal  terms  in  an  Imperial  National 
Debt — incurred  for  carrying  on  England's  wars 
of  aggression,  oppression,  expansion,  and  general 
greed — wars  for  the  enriching  of  England  at  the 
expense  of  the  weak  in  all  corners  of  the  world — 
an  Imperial  debt  of  more  billions  than  could  be 
set  down  in  a  short  book  like  this — more  billions 

174 


THE  LAST  CENTURY 

than  would  pave  every  Irish  highroad  and  every 
Irish  byroad  through  the  length  and  the  breadth 
of  the  land,  with  golden  guineas.  Ireland  is  now 
privileged  to  share  in  an  Imperial  National  Debt 
that  would  purchase  Ireland  twenty  times  over 
at  market  prices— a  staggering  debt,  every  penny 
of  whose  expenditure  went  to  the  enriching  of 
England,  and  the  impoverishing  of  Ireland. 

So  much  for  the  debt  industry  in  Ireland. 

Now  for  the  taxing. 

In  1795  Ireland  was  taxed  nine  and  one-half 
shillings  per  head  of  the  population. 

In  1801,  when  the  Union  was  finally  completed, 
the  taxes  were  fifty  per  cent,  higher — somewhat 
less  than  fourteen  shillings  per  head.  In  1914 
(before  the  war  began)  the  taxes  were  more  than 
fifty-two  shillings  per  head. 

Within  120  years  the  taxes  had  been  more  than 
multiplied  by  five.  And  in  the  113  years  since 
the  Union  they  had  been  almost  multiplied  by 

four. 

In  the  present  day,  1917-1918,  I  believe  they 
are  about  three  times  what  they  were  three  years 
ago.  What  they  will  be  like  tomorrow — after 
the  war — may  be  judged  by  those  who  live  to 
listen  to  the  groans  of  the  crushed  people — that 
is,  if  there  be  left  in  the  nation  enough  vitality  to 
emit  a  groan. 

Here  is  another  way  in  which  to  bring  home 

175 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

to  one  the  crushing  enormity  of  Ireland's  terrible 
taxation: 

All  income  of  the  people  over  and  above  what 
is  supposed  to  be  a  mere  living  pittance,  is  called 
the  taxable  income,  or  the  taxable  surplus.  Now 
in  complete  tax  revenue,  beggared  Ireland  is  pay- 
ing an  amount  equal  to  four-fifths  of  all  her  tax- 
able surplus — sixteen  shillings  out  of  every 
pound  I  And  at  the  same  time  wealthy  England, 
possessed  of  an  enormous  taxable  surplus,  is  pay- 
ing an  amount  less  than  one-sixth  of  her  taxable 
surplus — less  than  three  shillings  in  every  pound 
of  her  taxable  income ! 

In  proportion  to  their  respective  wealths,  then 
the  starving  Irishman's  tax  burden  is  much  more 
than  five  times  that  of  the  fat-paunched  English- 
man who  rolls  in  his  riches. 

Since  the  Union,  England's  taxation  per  head 
(1914)  has  decreased  considerably.  Since  the 
Union,  Ireland's  taxation  per  head  (1914)  has  in- 
creased almost  four  hundred  per  cent. 

And  those  are  a  few  tax  facts  that  will,  and 
well  may,  astonish  the  million. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  Sixteenth  Century, 
Archbishop  King,  the  Protestant  Archbishop  of 
Dublin,  was  so  amazed  at  the  taxing  of  Ireland 
into  beggary,  that  he  wrote,  "I  don't  see  how 
»ny  more  money  is  to  be  got  out  of  these  people 

176 


THE  LAST  CENTURY 

unless  we  take  away  their  potatoes  and  butter- 
milk, or  slay  them  and  sell  their  skins." 

The  Archbishop  offered  choice  of  these  two 
suggestions  in  bitter  jest.  But  since  then,  the 
English  rulers  of  Ireland  have  again^nd  again  lit- 
erally acted  on  both  suggestions. 

The  bitterest  part  of  the  pill  is  that  the  Irish 
people  have  to  pay  these  terrible  taxes  for  the 
purpose,  chiefly,  of  enabling  Britain  to  hold  them 
down.  A  large  portion  of  the  taxes  goes  not  only 
toward  the  support  of  the  regular  army  and  navy, 
maintained  for  the  cowing  of  Ireland — but  also 
for  the  paying  of  the  army  of  police  which  is 
maintained  for  the  purpose  of  nagging  the  people 
and  spying  on  the  people — and  for  paying  the 
swarming  hordes  of  British  ofificials  who  glut 
themselves  upon  Ireland's  vitals.  Just  as  at  the 
time  of  the  Union  England  made  Ireland  pay  the 
cost  of  her  own  robbing,  today  Ireland  has  to  pay 
for  the  knife  that  cuts  her  own  throat. 

The  portion  of  the  taxes  that  went  for  Imperial 
purposes,  army,  navy,  etc. — was  usually  about 
one-third  of  the  whole.  Of  the  remaining  two- 
thirds  that  came  back  to  Ireland  the  droves  of 
British  officials,  of  police  spies,  of  hangers-on, 
consumed  a  large  part.  For  every  twenty-nine 
shillings  of  England's  taxes  expended  in  England 
under  the  head  of  "cost  of  administration,"  near- 
ly twice  as  much — no  less  tlian  fifty-two  shillings 


IRELAND'S  CASB 

— of  Irish  taxes  expended  mnder  the  head  of 
"cost  of  administration."  These  are  the  pickings 
of  the  British  vutlures  in  Ireland. 

The  Financial  Relations  Committee  of  1896, 
composed  chiefly  of  Britons  appointed  to  investi- 
gate the  financial  relations  between  Ireland  and 
England,  were  constrained  to  pronounce,  "We 
believe  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  so-called 
local  expenditure  in  Ireland  is  due  to  Ireland's 
connection  with  Great  Britain."  (See  Report  of 
Financial  Relations  Committee). 

This  same  Financial  Relations  Committee, 
composed  chiefly  of  Britons,  had  to  declare,  as  a 
result  of  their  investigation,  that  England  had 
taken,  in  principal  and  interest,  from  Ireland,  a 
sum  of  $1,250,000,000  over  and  above  Ireland's 
fair  contribution.  Mr.  Childers,  the  head  of  the 
commission,  advised  that  England  should  pay 
back  to  Ireland,  in  some  form,  $11,000,000  a  year 
— ^by  way  of  compensation.  And  when  Ireland 
presented  herself  at  the  treasury  and  asked  for 
this  paltry  reparation  for  centuries  of  crime  and 
centuries  of  robbery,  the  genial  John  Bull,  but 
toned  up  his  fob  and  benignantly  said,  "To 
Hades  with  upcasting!      Let's  forgive  and  for- 

To  contrary  Ireland  the  benignant  John  gave 
two  splendid  choices — "You  forgive  my  crimes, 
and  I'll  forget  my  debts.     But,  if  that  does  not 

'78 


THE  LAST  CENTURY 

please  you,  take  it  the  other  way  around — You 
forget  my  crimes,  and  I'll  forgive  my  debts."  And 
when  Ireland  remained  stolidly  irresponsive  to 
such  characteristic  British  magnanimity,  John, 
pained  and  hurt,  appealed  to  the  world,  "What 
can  a  godly  body  do  with  such  a  perverse  ani- 
mal !" 

To  the  devil  his  due,  however.    During  the  last 
century  England  was  in  one  way  generous  almost 
to  extravagance.     With  a  lavish  hand,  through 
the  century,  she  dealt  out  to  the  Irish  Arms  Act 
alter  Coercion  Act,  and  Coercion  Act  after  Arms 
Act.  With  frequent  and  constant  beneficence  she, 
year    after    year,  bestowed  on  them  repressive 
measure  after  repressive  measure,  punitive  law 
after  punitive  law.     The  Irish  asked  for  justice 
and  she  gave  them  jail.     They  asked  for  bread — 
their  own  bread — ^and  she    gave    them    bullets. 
England's  own  good  friend,  Mr.  John  Redmond, 
it  was  who  reckoned  up  the  repressive  Acts  of 
the  Nineteenth  Century,  and  found  that  in  those 
one  hundred  years  no  les^  than  eighty-seven  Co- 
ercion Acts  were  bestowed  by  England  upon  Ire- 
land! 

The  world,  in  the  Nineteenth  Century,  would 
not  stand  for  the  fire,  sword,  and  bloody  mas- 
sacres which  were  handy  for  soothing  Ireland  in 
former  days.  So  England,  ever  in  the  forefront 
of  repressive  progress,  treated  her  dependency 

179 


IRELAND'S  CASE 


with  equally  effective  but  more  refined  and  up-to- 
date  species  of  tortures. 

From  the  century's  beginning  to  the  century's 
ending  Ireland's  continuous  groaning  made  mtisic 
in  the  ears  of  Britain. 


I 


CHAPTER  XII. 
ENGLAND'S  PRESENT-DAY  SYSTEM 

On  th«  last  summer  that  I  was  at  home  in  Ire- 
land— the  summer  before  the  war — ^I  went  to 
Dublin  to  give  a  lecture  upon  the  highly  sedi- 
ticus  subject  of  story-telling.  Two  Dublin  Castle 
detectives  took  position  facing  the  entrance  door 
of  the  lecture  room — with  their  backs  against  the 
railing  of  Parnell  Square — nearly  an  hour  before 
the  time  announced  for  the  lecture.  They  took 
note  of  every  conspirator  who  entered  the  hall 
for  the  felonious  purpose  of  reviving  Irish  story- 
telling. They  did  not  leave  their  post  till 
the  last  batch  of  criminals  left  tlie  hall,  at  eleven 
o'clock.  And  as  the  last  party  consisted  of  my- 
self and  a  few  intimate  Dublin  friends,  they  then 
lo^t  their  post  only  to  follow  us  to  our  hiding 
places.  They  did  not  quit  my  trail  till  they  had 
seen  me  safely  in  my  hotel,  after  midnight. 

Foreign  readers  will  probably  be  surprised  at 
this  Incident.  I  only  set  it  down  here  as  a  sample 
of  the  common  incident  in  Ireland— of  the  man- 
ner in  which  several  hundreds  of  people  in  Ire- 
land^—people  whose  crime  is  that  they  are  striv- 
ing to  uplift  their  country,  are,  and  always  have 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

been,  dogged  and  shadowed  from  year's  end  to 
year's  end — and  complete  and  detailed  record 
kept  in  Dublin  Castle  of  every  move  of  theirs — 
every  place  they  went,  every  man  they  met,  every 
person  they  spoke  with,  every  house  they  visited 
— almost  every  thought  they  were  suspected  of 
thinking.  This  applies  to  all  men  who  make 
themselves  prominent  even  in  the  harmless  move- 
ment of  reviving  the  industries  of  Ireland,  or  re- 
viving the  language  of  Ireland,  or  reviving  any- 
thing at  all  that  might  directly  or  indirectly  help 
Ireland. 

Whenever,  on  any  of  my  constant  visits  home, 
I  reach  Ireland  from  America,  a  detective  is 
awaiting  mc  at  the  dock.  And  from  that  day  till 
the  moment  that,  several  months  later,  another 
detective  sees  me  off  at  the  pier,  I  am  under 
constant  surveillance — either  by  ofi&cial  detec- 
tives or  by  local  police.  Whenever,  during  that 
time,  I  quit  my  own  little  mountain  village  for 
either  a  business  or  a  pleasure  trip,  for  any  other 
point  in  Ireland,  the  local  police,  having  always 
at  their  command  such  sources  of  information  as 
the  railroad  ticket-office,  wire  ahead  to  my  point 
of  destination,  providing  for  my  reception  there 
— in  Belfast,  in  Dublin,  or  else — ^by  a  detective 
who  shadows  me  and  keeps  record  of  all  my 
movements  from  my  arrival  in  the  city  till  I 
quit  it  again. 


ENGLAND'S  PRESENT-DAY  SYSTEM 

And  this  mean  Middle-Ages  system  is  prac- 
ticed upon,  probably,  a  thousand  men  in  Ireland 
— on  most  men  who  are  guilty  of  the  crime  of 
working  for  Ireland's  uplift. 

Of  all  the  spy  systems  in  the  world,  the  old 
Russian  spy  system  seems  instinctively  to  come 
uppermost  in  people's  minds  and  first  upon  their 
tongue.  This  is  because,  before  England  found 
it  useful  to  ally  herself  with  Russia,  English 
cables  and  English  writers,  for  English  purpose, 
busied  themselves  in  keeping  the  phrase  "Rus- 
sian Spy"  in  the  world's  eye,  and  in  the  world's 
ear. 

The  world  knows  it  not,  because  English  writ- 
ers and  English  news  services  see  no  good  rea- 
son for  mentioning  it — but  the  Russian  Czar  in 
his  palmiest  days  might  gnash  his  teeth  in  envy 
of  the  English  spy  system  in  Ireland. 

Every  soul  (if  such  creatures  have  a  soul)  of 
the  swarms  of  British  officials  who  gorge  them- 
selves upon  Ireland's  vitals,  is  supposed  to  do  his 
part  in  observing  and  conveying  "useful  infor- 
mation" to  Dublin  Castle.  Not  only  are  there 
crowds  of  official  detectives  for  use  everywhere 
and  on  every  occasion,  but  Ireland  is  bent  double 
under  its  burden  of  police — every  single  one  of 
whom  is,  and  must  be,  an  untiring  spy. 

No  other  country  in  the  world  bears  such  an 
intolerable  police  burden — chiefly  for  spy  pur- 

183 


IRELAND'S  CASS 

|>08es — M  doei  Ireland.  There  is  a  British  po- 
liceman to  every  250  men,  women  and  children 
in  Ireland. 

Every  little  hamlet  in  every  remote  comer  of 
the  mountains  has  got  its  police  barracks  rising 
amidst  its  handful  of  huts.  And  thousands  of 
little  villages  in  Ireland  with  population  of  200 
or  300  souls  (including  babies)  haVe  got  six  and 
seven  and  eight  police  quartered  upon  each  of 
them.  It  is  the  duty  of  these  police  to  await 
every  train  that  comes  in  or  goes  out,  make  note 
of  all  who  leave  the  train  and  all  who  enter  it — 
to  watch,  with  the  same  object,  every  car  that 
enters  or  leaves  the  village,  to  observe  and  find 
out  all  particulars  of  every  stranger,  riding,  driv- 
ing, or  afoot,  in  coach,  carriage,  or  wheelbarrow, 
who  visits  the  village,  halts  in  it,  or  flies  through 
it.  And  for  the  upkeep  of  this  spy-army  Ireland 
is  mulcted  in  $7,500,000  a  year. 

They  are  responsible  to  their  authorities  for 
being  able,  at  a  moment's  notice,  to  answer  any 
question  and  give  any  information  regarding  any 
person,  local  or  foreign,  who  ever  came  within 
their  purview — his  name,  his  description,  his 
business,  his  associates,  his  conversation — if  pos- 
sible, these  creatures  are  expected  to  have  worm- 
ed out  the  secrets  of  his  soul. 

The  British  police  system  in  Ireland  is  car- 
iried  to  still  further  perfection.    The  police  rnust^ 

184 


ENGLAND'S  PRESENT-DAY  SYSTEM 

of  course,  be  on  the  alert  to  anticipate  and  detect 
2 11  political  **crime.*'  When  its  detection  or  un- 
ravelling baffles  them,  that  deficiency  must  not 
stand  in  their  way  of  making  an  example  of  some 
one,  innocent  or  guilty,  for  every  political  of- 
fence; otherwise  there  would  be  an  end  of  Brit- 
ish Government.  So,  for  every  "crime"  com- 
mitted, someone  must  be  made  to  suffer — the 
guilty    by    preference— but  only  by  preference. 

Where  lay  witnesses  are  necessary  to  cor- 
roborate the  splendid  swearing  of  men  who  must 
swear  hard  to  hold  their  jobs,  these  witnesses 
are  always  provided. 

When,  in  a  political  crisis,  it  becomes  neces- 
sary to  the  policy  of  the  authorities  that  any 
specified  locality  should  be  lawless,  the  police 
have  to  see  to  it  that,  if  lawlessness  cannot  be 
discovered  or  provoked,  it  will  be  invented.  And 
the  patriotic  policeman  who  creates  crime  for 
his  superiors  is  not  only  protected,  but  promoted. 
If  he  blunders  and  lets  the  source  of  manufacture 
get  exposed  to  the  world  he,  properly,  receives 
condign  punishment. 

The  famous  Sergeant  Sheridan  ca«e  is  as  good 
an  example  of  police  manufactured  crime  as  any 
one  of  a  thousand  others.  The  Sergeant  had 
kti  his  district  several  men,  who,  being  guilty  of 
the  high  crime  of  striving  for  the  redress  of  Ire- 
land's wrongs,  should  be  got  rid  of.    At  the  same 

I8S 


IRELAND'S  CASK 

time,  because  the  whole  district  was  active  for 
Ireland,  it  was  desirable  that  it  should  be  proved 
to  be  a  criminal  district  in  order  that  the  authori- 
ties would  have  an  excuse  for  coercing  and  ter- 
rorizing it — and  for  punishing  the  more  patriotic. 

But,  unfortunately,  the  Irish  workers  in  the 
district,  in  their  perversity,  worked  within  the 
law.     Something  had  to  be  done  then. 

The  Sergeant,  true  to  the  police  instinct,  aaw 
it  was  his  duty  to  do  that  something — either  saw 
it  of  his  own  well-trained  accord,  or  was  made  to 
see  it  by  the  authorities. 

Now,  in  England,  because  it  constitutes  an 
eflFective,  as  well  as  a  noble  text,  from  which 
to  preach  against  the  barbarous  Irish,  one  of 
the  most  welcome  pieces  of  Irish  news  is  the 
news  of  the  malicious  maiming  of  dumb  ani- 
mals. This  news  always  assures  a  shiver  of 
holy  horror,  shaking  the  shocked  souls  of  pious 
English  people  who  feel  cheered  at  reports  of 
the  maiming  or  killing  of  an  Irish  agitator  or 
an  Indian  agitator,  the  blowing  of  Sepoys  from 
a  cannon's  mouth,  or  at  the  butchering  of 
wounded  Soudanese  after  a  battle.  So  the  good 
Sergeant,  knowing  his  market  and  his  mar- 
keteers, devised  a  splendid  conspiracy  for  mut- 
ilating dumb  animals  in  his  district.  It  was,  for 
a  time,  highly  effective,  proving  a  safe  and  con- 
venient way  for  swearing  away  the  liberties  of 

i86 


ENGLAND'S  PRESENT-DAY  SYSTEM 

"objectionable"  persons  in  the  district.  But 
through  an  unfortunate  accident  the  Sergeant 
let  himself  be  discovered.  Quietly  and  quickly 
the  Government  slipped  him  out  of  the  district, 
gave  him  one  hundred  pounds,  shipped  him  to 
America,  and  let  the  little  affair  blow  over. 

This  is  only  quoted  as  a  sample  of  the  spirit 
that  permeates  the  whole  English  method  of  gov- 
erning Ireland.  The  same  spirit  goes  through 
every  branch  and  stem  of  every  department  ot 
the  terrible  English  system  in  the  country.  And 
all  the  ofHcial  crimes  are  locked  and  interlocked. 
The  judiciary  is  packed  with  reliable,  picked 
men  for  doing  England's  work — men  who  have 
been  tested  and  proved  satisfactory  in  subor- 
dinate places  before  being  entrusted  with  their 
high  positions. 

The  same  packing  system  applies  to  the  juries 
in  the  courts.  In  any  political  case  where  it  is 
desirable  to  convict  and  sentence  a  man  who  has 
become  objectionable  by  reason  of  his  too  ar- 
dent work  for  Ireland,  trial  by  jury  is  supposed 
to  be  accorded  him.  But  the  British  officials 
take  care  to  select  such  a  jury  that  the  man  will 
not  have  a  chance  in  twenty  of  a  fair  verdict. 
From  the  jury  panel  the  Crown  Prosecutor  care- 
fully selects  the  trusty  men  for  trying  the  case — 
and  in  court  goes  through  the  form  of  getting  a. 
jury,  causing  to  atand  aside  every  man  on  all' 

i8r 


IRELAND'S    CASK 

the  jury  roll  who  is  Irish  and  National,  every 
man  who  has  Irish  or  National  leanings,  and 
every  man,  even  of  the  British  garrison  in  Ire- 
land, who  might  be  in  danger  of  putting  con- 
science before  prejudice,  when  deciding  whether 
or  not  the  victim  should  be  deprived  of  his  lib- 
erty or  of  his  life. 

Of  his  life,  I  say,  because,  during  the  crisis 
of  the  Land  League  agitation  in  Ireland,  when 
crimes  were  committed  and  it  was  necessary  to 
make  an  example,  there  were  several  undisputed 
cases  of  men  having  been  hung  for  crimes  with 
which  they  had  no  connection. 

If  a  guilty  man  was  to  be  transported  or  hung 
the  jury  packing  system  was  handy  and  effective. 
If  an  innocent  man  was  to  be  transported  or 
hung  the  jury  packing  system  was  more  valu- 
able still.  A  Crown  Prosecutor's  value  was  often 
rated  by  the  perfection  of  his  jury  packing  abili- 
ties. The  notorious  prosecutor,  Peter  O'Brien, 
whose  perfected  abilities  in  this  matter  earned 
for  him  his  national  nickname  of  Peter  the  Pack- 
er, proved  himself  of  such  especial  value  to  the 
British  Government  that  he  was  raised  to  the 
Bench,  and  pushed  upward  till  the  fellow  ac- 
tually sat  as  Lord  Chief  Justice  for  Ireland  I 
This  fellow  only  ceased  to  disgrace  the  Bench 
when  he  died  off  it,  a  few  years  ago. 

The  system  is  thorough.    The  manufacture  of 

i8a 


ENGLAND'S  PRESENT-DAY  SYSTEM 

a  crime  is  backed  by  the  subornation  of  perjury, 
which,  in  turn,  is  backed  by  hand-pkking  the 
jury;  and  that  in  turn  strengthened  by  Bench- 
packing.  This  Bench-packing,  by  the  way,  was 
ludicrously  illustrated  at  a  famous  Irish  State 
trial  of  the  nineteenth  century,  when  the  pre- 
siding Judge,  alluding  to  the  counsel  for  the  de- 
fendant, let  slip  his  mind  with  the  phrase,  "The 
gentleman  on  the  other  side.** 

So  intimate,  almost  c«:tain,  is  the  connection 
in  Ireland  between  law  and  the  most  terrible 
injustice,  that  the  Irishman,  at  length,  has  come 
instinctively  to  range  himself  on  the  side  of  the 
accused. 

That  the  Habeas  Corpus  Is  suspended  in  Ire- 
land whenever  the  Government  chooses,  and  men 
thrown  into  jail  without  charge,  and  kept  there 
without  trial,  astonishes  incredulous  foreigi>ers. 

Under  Qiief  Secretary  Foster  there  were  ieven 
hundred  "suspects'*  enjoying  jail  terms  at  one 
time— without  one  of  them  ever  having  been 
fsced  with  a  charge,  or  confronted  by  an  accuser. 
Probably  several  thousand  such  suffered  jail  in 
the  same  way,  during  Buckshot  Foster's  regime. 

Then,  when  a  man  became  troublesome  by  do- 
ing too  effective  work  for  the  amending  of  tne 
miserable  land  laws,  it  was  only  necessary  for 
the  landlord,  or  the  British  authorities,  to  pro- 
curt  two  men — ^they  might  be  the  landlord's  own 

189 


IRELAND'S     CASE 

bailiffs  or  officials  of  the  Government — to  go  be- 
fore one  of  the  British  magistrates,  and  swear 
that  they  had  good  reason  to  suspect  this  man 
was  dangerous  to  the  peace  of  the  realm.  Neither 
examination  nor  cross-examination  was  neces- 
sary. No  details  were  asked  or  required.  The 
accused  was  not  only  not  there,  but  in  no  case 
did  he  know  of  the  secret  proceedings  against 
him.  Just  the  simple  oath  of  men  to  whom  oaths 
were  a  joke — their  formal  oath,  given  and  taken 
without  question  and  in  secret — sufficed  to  de- 
prive the  best  and  most  reputable  men  in  the 
land — alike  lay  and  cleric — of  their  liberty.  The 
first  intimation  given  the  accused  of  his  "trial'* 
and  "conviction"  was  the  descent  upon  his  house 
oftentimes  in  the  dead  of  night,  of  an  armed 
troop  of  police,  who  carried  him  off  without 
charge,  and  lodged  him  in  a  jail  cell,  among 
drunks  and  thieves,  where  he  should  remain  till 
such  time  as  it  plea^ed^the  Government  to  re- 
lease him.      , 

That  this  method  of  arresting  a  man  without 
accusation  and  jailing  him  without  trial  is  still 
a  valuable  adjunct  of  the  English  Government  in 
Ireland,  and  likely  to  continue  so,  is  proved  by 
the  fact  that  the  authorities  have  been  using  it 
effectively  against  workers  in  the  Irish  Vol- 
unteers and  Sinn  Fein  during  the  past  few  years. 

And  the  treatment  of  arrested  political  pris- 

190 


ENGLAND'S  PR?SENT-DAY  SYSTEM 

oners  by  the  British  authorities  is  usually  viler 
than  anything  that  occurs  in  semi-barbarous  na* 
tions. 

Even  as  I  write  this  chapter  I  pick  up  an  Irish 
Unionist  newspaper,  "The  Belfast  Daily  Tele- 
graph," of  current  date  (May  28,  1917),  giving 
account  of  the  trial  of  an  Irish  Nationalist,  a 
school  teacher,  James  Joseph  Layng,  court-mar- 
tialed in  Dundalk  for  the  crime  ot  being  found 
in  possession  of  a  rebel  revolver — from  which 
account  I  wish  to  quote  for  the  benefit  of  the 
readers,  the  following  cross-examination  of  Po- 
lice Sergeant  Graham: 

"ATTORNEY— You  brought  the  prisoner  to 
the  barracks  at  Castlebellingham  and  put  him  in- 
to the  lock-up  there  ? 

'^SERGEANT—Yes. 

"ATTORNEY— Am  I  right  in  saying  that  that 
room  is  nine  feet  by  three  feet  six  inches?, 

SERGEANT — I  cannot  say  that  you  are  far 
astray,  but  it  is  more  than  three  feet  six  inches. 

"ATTORNEY— -It  has  a  stone  floor,  without 
any  windows? 

"SERGEANT — ^There  is  a  small  open  slit 

"ATTORNEY— Isn't  it  devoid  of  any  comfort? 

"SERJEANT — There  is  a  big  wooden  plank 
m  It. 

"ATTORNEY — ^There  arc  no  sanitary  conven- 
iences ? 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

"SERGEANT— None. 

"ATTORNEY— Was  the  accused  put  in  that 
night? 

"SERGEANT— He  was. 

"ATTORNEY— And  kept  there  for  five  days 
and  five  nights? 

"SERGEANT— Yes. 

"ATTORNEY— During  that  time  was  he  ovc» 
taken  out  for  any  exercise? 

"SERGEANT— No. 

"ATTORNEY— Was  there  any  bed  there? 

"SERGEANT— No." 

And  that  is  but  a  sample  of  the  brutal  savagery 
with  which  Irish  political  prisoners  are  and  al- 
ways have  been  treated,  by  the  first,  greatest,  and 
most  glorious  empire  on  earth ! 

O'Donovan  Rossa,  when  in  English  prisons, 
serving  his  life  sentence,  and  protesting  against 
the  indignities  to  which  he  and  his  fellows  were 
subject,  frequently  had  his  hands  chained  behind 
his  back  for  days  together,  in  solitary  confine- 
ment And  to  eat  the  bits  of  food  that  were 
thrust  to  him  through  the  bars,  he  had  to  go  on 
his  knees  and  lap  it  up  like  a  wild  beast ! 

Michael  Davitt,  the  one-armed,  tells  how  he 
and  his  fellow  political  prisoners  in  English  dtm- 
geons,  in  order  to  get  a  mouthful  of  the  fresh  air 
for  which  they  gasped,  had  oftentimes,  to  lie  on 
their  stomachs  on  the  floor  of  their  cell  and  put 


ENGLAND'S  PRESENT-DAY  SYSTEM 

theia-  mouth  to  tht  ilit  at  the  bottom  of  the  door. 
And  on  passing  a  garbage  barrel  when  the  keep- 
er was  fortunately  not  watching  them,  the  prison- 
ers grabbed  from  it  the  dirty  ends  of  tallow 
candles,  and  secreted  the  tid-bits,  which  at  the 
first  opportunity  they  ravenously  devoured. 

The  treatment  of  Irish  political  prisoners  in 
English  dungeons  has  been  universally  so  brutal, 
so  savagely  unhuman,  so  much  worse  than  any- 
thing the  world  is  aware  of,  that  it  is  no  wonder 
these  Irishmen  emerge  from  the  English  dun- 
geons— whenever  they  do  emerge,  incurably  in 
valided,  crippled,  blind,  and  insane.  For  some, 
the  jail  door  opened  to  the  tomb.  For  others, 
far  worse,  it  opened  to  the  madhous«. 

On  the  eve  of  this  chapter's  going  to  press 
comes  the  news  of  the  doing  to  death  of 
Thomas  Ashe  by  Britain's  usual  prison  practices. 
it  is  a  sadly  fitting  climax  for  this  chapter. 

This  noble  fellow,  a  teacher,  a  Gaelic  League 
enthusiast,  and  a  beloved  leader  of  his  people, 
was  thrown  into  prison  for  the  crime  of  wearing 
an  Irish  Volunteer  uniform.  He  was  a  political 
prisoner — but  Britain  branded  him  criminal,  and 
ordered  him  to  be  treated  with  all  the  prison  in- 
dignities meted  out  to  the  lowest  criminal.  Ashe 
refused  to  observe  the  rules  for  criminals,  and  he 
refused  to  take  food.      He  was  confined  to  his 

193 


IRELAND'S  CASS 

cell.  His  bed  clothes  were  takes  from  him,  his 
bed  was  taken  from  him,  the  little  jail  seat  was 
taken  from  him,  hi«  own  clothes  and  shoes  were 
taken  from  him.  For  days  he  was  left  in  that 
condition  in  his  little,  dirty,  cold,  cell — without 
a  seat  to  sit  on,  without  a  bed  to  lie  on,  without 
clothes  to  preserve  to  him  the  vital  heat.  And 
meanwhile  he  was  being-  forcibly  fed.  When  at 
length  they  found  that  their  work  was  accom- 
plished, that  his  heart  was  giving  out,  and  that 
he  must  die  within  some  hours,  they  htd  the 
dying  man  carried  and  carted  from  his  eell,  and 
from  the  jail,  and  flung  into  an  outside  hos- 
pital— where,  in  a  few  hours,  he  expired — only 
one  other  Irishman  done  away  with,  to  England's 
glorification. 

This  crime — which  may  wett  seen  unbelievable 
to  some  readers — was  not  committed  in  Belgium 
—nor  in  the  South  Sea  Islands.  But  in  the  heart 
of  the  Empire  most  renowned  on  earth. 


i^ 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
HAS  THE  LEOPARD  CHANGED  HIS  SPOTS? 

But  England  has  got  a  change  of  heart  in  recent 
years,  say  some  people.  These  people  are  strang- 
ers. And  these  strangers  who  give  us  pleasant 
news  of  England  in  Ireland  describe  England's 
change  of  heart  under  four  various  headings. 

First — England  is,  today,  generously  giving 
Irr^inH  nmplinrativr  legislation. 

Second — She  hat  been  lavishing  large  sums  of 
Ciuiic^  oil  irciaaa  aunng  recent  decades — pur- 
chasing the  land  for  the  people,  building  laborers 
cottages,  etc. 

Third — She  is  yielding  more  freedom  and  Jus- 
tice to  Ireland. 

Fourth — She  is  exercising  her  rule  over  the  two 
peoples  in  Ireland,  the  Anglo-Irish  and  the  Irish- 
Irish,  with  much  more  impartiality  than  she  did. 

Let  us  seek  for  proof  of  the  four  allegations : 

THE  FIRST A  generous  money  prize  can 

safely  be  offered  the  man  who  will  discover  one 
instance  of  England's  having  voluntarily  granted 
to  Ireland  relief  from  any  oppression- — voluntarily 
bringing  forward  and  passing  even  one  remedial 
measure  for  Ireland — in  the  117  years  since  the 

195 


IRELAND'S  CASK 

lri«h  Parliament  united  with  the  English  Parlia- 
ment. 

During  that  period  Ireland  has  at  various 
times,  won  various  ameliorative  measures — in 
every  case  won  these  measures  by  force.  Every 
one  who  has  even  a  nodding  acquaintance  with 
Irish  history  during  the  past  117  years,  knows 
that  in  all  of  that  time  never  once — even  once — 
did  England  look  around  and  say.  Here  is  a 
gross  wrong  perpetrated  upon  Ireland — Let  us 
remedy  it. 

Every  single  remedial  measure  of  the  117 
years — from  A.  D.  1800  to  A.  D.  1917,  was  wrung 
from  England  only  after  the  whole  Irish  nation 
had  for  years,  and  for  decades — and  sometimes  for 
generations — struggled  and  fought  for  that  meas- 
ure, and  compelled  it.  England,  far  from  gener- 
ously granting  such  measure,  had  a  hundred 
times  vowed  through  her  ministers  that  she 
never  would  consent  to  grant  it.  She  had  filled 
the  jails,  and  crowded  the  gibbets,  with  the  fight- 
ers for  the  measure,  in  vain  efforts  to  allay  the 
storm  and  withhold  the  reform.  For  every  "con- 
cession" won,  our  best  people  had  to  rot  in  jail, 
be  shot  down  on  the  streets,  hang  from  the  gib- 
bets— before  generous  England,  harried  and  har- 
assed, and  her  rule  in  Ireland  nullified,  had  at 
length  to  swallow  her  vows  and  yield  a  little  to 
save  the  rest. 

196 


HAS  THE  LEOPARD  CHANGED  HIS  SPOTS? 

This  applies  to  every  single  "g-enerous"  grant, 
from  first  to  last,  that  "generous"  England 
in  change  of  heart  has  'bestowed"  upon  Ireland 
— from  the  Act  of  Catholic  Emancipation  in  '29 
to  the  Land  Acts  of  recent  years.  Every  "gen- 
erous" grant  was  dragged  from  England  by  su- 
perhuman force — was  given  by  England  with  as 
much  hearty  good-will  as  would  grace  the  giv- 
ing of  her  eye-teeth.     For  insta  ice : 

(a)  With  holy  wrath  and  burning  indigna- 
tion the  idea  of  emancipating  and  giving  rights  of 
citizenship  to  Irish  Roman  Catholics  in  Ireland 
was  at  first  spurned  by  British  Ministers.  As 
late  as  1827,  when  the  agitation  for  their  rights 
had  long  been  raging,  Sir  Robert  Peel  still  as- 
serted, "I  cannot  consent  to  widen  the  door  of 
political  power  to  Roman  Catholics.  I  cannot 
consent  to  give  them  civil  rights  and  privileges 
equal  to  those  possessed  by  their  Protestant  fel- 
low countrymen."  The  Irish  people  answered 
Peel  with  still  more  fearful  agitation — giving  him 
"change  of  heart."  In  February,  1829,  he  said, 
"In  the  course  of  the  last  six  months,  England,  at 
peace  with  the  world,  has  had  five-sixths  of  her 
infantry  force  occupied  in  maintaining  peace,  and 
in  doing  police  duties  in  Ireland.  I  consider 
such  a  state  of  things  much  worse  than  rebel- 
lion." In  that  year,  when  things  in  Ireland  got 
worse  than  rebellion,  the  Emanciijation  Act,  so 

197 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

long  spurned,  wtt  passed,  and  generous  England, 
getting  sudden  change  of  heart,  generously  per- 
mitted IrishmMi  to  have  some  of  the  rights  of 
citizens  1 

(b)     Th«  next  relief  of  any  importance  that 

Ireland  got  was  the  Act  of  Church  Disestablish- 
ment, passed  by  Gladstone  in  1869.  The  Anglican 
Protestant  Church  was  the  Established  Church  in 
Ireland  which  Catholic  Ireland  had  to  support 
by  tithes.  In  thousands  of  districts  where  the 
only  Anglicans  were  the  imported  minister,  his 
wife  and  children  and  the  imported  sexton,  the 
minister  drew  from  Catholics,  many  of  whom 
were'  themselves  perishing  with  hunger,  a  fat 
salary  which  kept  him  in  luxury's  lap.  Often- 
times, too,  the  man  who  benefitted  from  a  parish 
did  not  live  in  the  parish — lived  maybe  on  an- 
other fat  living  in  England,  and  paid  a  salary  to 
some  poor  substitute  devil,  who  went  through 
tha  form  of  conducting  services  for  nobody  on 
Sunday  morning — or,  like  Swift,  preaching  his 
sermon  to  "My  dearly  beloved  Roger" — his  horse- 
boy— and  drawing  the  large  salary  for  his  cm- 
ploytr.  When,  after  terribly  long  and  terribly 
fierce  agitation,  Gladstone  at  length  disestab- 
liahed  the  English  Church  in  Ireland,  he,  in  his 
place  hi  Parliament,  confessed :  **If  it  had  not 
befen  for  the  Fenian  movement  in  Ireland  I  never 

iq8 


HAS  THE  LEOPARD  CHANGED  HIS  SPOTS? 

vvouki   hav«  brou|[ht    in    the    Disestablishment 
Act." 

(c)  The  Land  Acte  of  a  Ml  later  pa:i«d, 
when  the  land  a^tation  wfts  rocking  the  king- 
dorai,  were  passed  for  exactly  the  sam#  foroiful 
reason — after  the  idea  had  time  and  time  again 
beea  teorned  and  apurn^d  by  all  England  and 
its  Miniitcri,  and  after  time  and  time  again  they 
had  practically  vowed  that  thty  would  rather 
clear  all  the  Iriih  out  of  Ireland  than  grant  such 
meaturta.  When  the  first  and  most  important 
of  th«M  land  acts  was  passed  by  Gladstone  (in 
*^i),  aft»r  he  had  vainly  tried  to  cow  Ireland  by 
a  reign  of  terror,  Lord  Derby,  in  the  course  of 
an  article  in  The  Nineteenth  Century,  comment- 
ing upon  Gladstone's  confession  that  he  had  dis- 
e«tabli«hftd  the  Church  only  out  of  fear,  wrote: 
"That  was  the  exact  and  naked  truth.  But  it  is 
regrettable  that  for  the  third  time  in  less  than  a 
century  agitation  accompanied  by  violence  should 
have  been  shown  to  be  the  most  effective  instru- 
ment for  righting  whatever  Irishmen  may  be 
pleased  to  consider  their  wrongs." 

(d)  The  Full  Measure  of  Home  Rule,  so  long 
and  so  solemnly  promised  Ireland — and  which 
proved  indeed  to  be  a  Fool  Measure  of  Home 
Rule,  one  of  the  latest,  most  comic  proofs  of  Eng- 
land's change  of  heart,  need  not  be  dilated  on 
here.     It  belongs  in  a  joke  book. 

199 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

Yes,  England  gets  a  change  of  heart,  and  gen- 
erously gives  to  Ireland  more  generous  laws, 
every  time,  and  only  every  time,  that  the  strug- 
gle within  Ireland  is  strong  eaough  to  compel 
her — every  time,  and  only  every  time,  that  it 
becomes  imperative  on  her  to  sacrifice  a  little'  in 
order  to  save  the  remainder. 

THE  SECOND — In  the  last  quarter  century 
England  has  been  bestowing  large  sums  of 
money  on  Ireland  with  a  lavish  hand — so  many 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  pounds  for  building 
laborers'  cottages — so  many  millions  of  pounds 
for  buying  out  the  landlords,  and  presenting  the 
land  to  the  people — and  so  many  billions 
for  so  many  other  charitable  objects — in  vain 
hope  of  appeasing  the  Irish  beggars. 

It  was  Mr.  Redmond  and  his  Parliamentary 
party  that,  for  their  own  small  glorification,  glad- 
ly led  the  world  to  believe  that  the  generous  Eng- 
lishman in  a  sudden  spasm  of  munificence  had 
begun  showering  his  gold  upon  the  pitiable  Irish 
beggar. 

But  what  is  the  reality: 

The  District  Councils  throughout  Ireland 
were  granted  permission  to  pre-empt  from  their 
own  members  and  from  their  electors,  portions  of 
land  for  the  farm  laborers — and  given  permis- 
sion to  borrow,  at  a  reasonable  rate  of  interest, 
from  the  common  purse — the  Imperial  purse — 

200 


HAS  THE  LEOPARD  CHANGED  HIS  SPOTS? 

the  moneys  necessary  for  building  cottages  for 
these  laborers — to  borrow  and  pay  back  the  prin- 
cipal plus  the  interest,  on  the  instalment  plan. 
Which  was  neither  a  gain  nor  a  loss,  to  the  Im- 
perial purse. 

The  farmers  were  likewise  given  permission  to 
borrow  from  the  common  purse — the  purse  into 
which  Ireland  was  paying  a  far  higher  proportion 
of  her  wealth  than  was  England — to  borrow  at  a 
rate  of  interest  which  secured  the  Imperial  ex- 
chequer against  any  loss  on   the   trans-action— 
enough  to  buy  from  the  landlords  at  an  exorbit 
ant  valuation,  the  lands  that  were  really  thei 
own,  and  that  had  been  the  possessions  of  their 
family  from  time  immemorial. 

And  please  observe,  in  this  connection,  that  the 
Irish  money  in  the  Imperial  Savings  Banks  was 
lent  to  the  Government  at  two  and  one-half  per 
cent — whi|e  the  Imperial  Government  was  gen- 
erously lending  back  to  these  investors  the  mon- 
eys for  purchase  of  thdr  lands,  at  tlyfee  and  one- 
quarter  per  cent.  The  English  and  Anglo-Irish 
landlords  of  the  Irish  estates  were  the  people 
most  directly  benefitted  by  England's  won- 
drous generosity. 

And  these  ordinary  and  safe  business  transac- 
tions furnish  the  sole  foundation  for  the  English- 
gentleman-and-Irish-beggar  legend,  -which  a  mil- 
lion innocent  people  outside  of  Ireland  so  greed- 

20I 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

ily  committed  to  memory,  from  the  continuous 
i^iteration  of  Mr.  Redmond's  Parliamentary  Par- 
rots 1 

THE  THIRD— And  now  let  us  examine 
how  she  hat  extended  freedom  and  justice  in  Ire- 
land. 

(a)  Mr.  Arthur  Balfour,  who  visited  America 
recently — as  a  champion  of  Democracy  and  Lib- 
erty!— said,  apparently  without  wincing,  that 
England  and  America  could  not  stand  by  and 
see  "one  uiis«r«puitoi»  power  deprive  mankind 
ot  its  Hbertie«l" 

Now  this  dazihng  democrat  was  Chief  Secre- 
tary for  Ireland,  and,  like  the  other  Chief  Secre- 
taries^ of  course,  suppressed  the  right  of  public 
meeting  and  the  right  of  free  speech,  whenever 
and  wherever  he  cfiose.     There  is  nothing  spe- 
cially worth  noting  in  such  perfornxasfee  of  any 
Englishman—- in  Ireland.     But  his  mo5t  notable 
achievement  in  the  cause  of  liberty  to  whieh  I 
wish  to   draw  attention  here^   was   when,   after 
proclaiming  a  public  meeting  in  Mitchellstown, 
County  Cork,  and  sending  his  armed  forces  there 
to  back  his  proclamation,  he,  to  prevent  any  crim- 
inal leniency  in  the  fbretng  of  English  liberty 
upon  Irish  barbarians,  telegraiphed  to  the  Com- 
mandant of  the  forces,  on  the  morning  of  the 
proscribed   meeting,    his    famous    telegram    (in 
cipher),  "Do  not  hesitatt  to  shoot." 


HAS  THE  LEOPARD  CHANGED  HIS  SPOTS? 

In  oompliance  with  the  orii«r  of  thit  champion 
of  world  freedom,  British  bullets  w«r«  that  day 
shot  into  the  limbs  and  bowels  and  hMids  and 
hearts  of  men  who  mistakenly  thought  that  to 
\oic€  their  grievances  they  eonld  intift  upon 
liberty  of  meeting  and  liberty  of  spcaldaf,  in 
their  own  land.  And  croseet  in  the  little  grave- 
yard at  MitchellstowQ,  to  this  day,  atteet  M>t  omly 
Mr.  Balfour's  consuming  pasekai  for  suuikind's 
liberties,  but  also  England's  ftnerous  change  of 
heart,  toward  the  land  "ihat  h  dependent  on  and 
protected  by  Sngland/' 

(b)  Until  the  pririlege  was  forced  Irom  Bng- 
land  by  a  big  struggle  a  few  years  ag»,  Irish  his- 
tory dan  not  be  taught  lo  IrUh  pipik  in  Irish 
NatiooLal  Sehook.  Now  Irkh  pupils  are  gracious- 
ly permitted  te  learn  just  as  mudi  hand-picked 
Irish  hittorr  as  may  be  eontaiiied  in  a  text-book 
ftpprored  of  by  tke  appolutees  ef  ^e  Bng^h 
GcyremmeRt ! 

(e)  It  is  a  crime  in  Ireland,  punl^aMe  by 
fine  or  imprisonmeat,  and  fcr  wliich  mea  have 
frequently  baen  ftnad  and  impritoned,  to  reply 
in  Irfth  to  the  inquiries  of  a  policeman.  Only 
the  other  day  even,  an  Oxford  student,  named 
Chevasee,  an  enthusiast  for  the  IHali  language, 
was  imprisoned  for  this  revolting  eriaae.  And 
it  is  a  crime,  punishable  by  fine  or  imprieaMaent, 
and  for  widdi  men  have  frequently  ^a«i  fined 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

and  imprisoned,  for  an  Irishman  to  print  hit 
ncime  upon  liis  cart  in  the  Irish  language,  in- 
stead of  the  English  language. 

During  the  recent  Land  League  agitation  in 
Ireland  "intimidation"  of  any  Government  pet 
was  exalted  among  the  crimes  on  the  Statute 
book.  A  man  was  imprisoned  for  instance  for 
tne  crime  (as  literally  sworn  to)  of  intimidating 
a  boycotted  man  by  ''winking  at  his  pig"  as  he 
[massed  the  grunter  gentleman  in  the  market- 
place. And  a  man  was  imprisoned  for  smilmg, 
■'a  humbugging  kind  of  smile,"  as  he  passed  an- 
other anti-Irish  Irishman.  Those  are  literal  ex- 
amples of  Irish  "crimes"  for  which  scores  of 
Irishmen  have  been  fined  c^nd  imprisoned. 

(d)  In  1915,  1916  and  1917,  young  men,  work- 
ers in  the  Irish  Volunteers  were  again  and  again 
being  arrested  without  charge,  and  imprisoned 
without  trial.  In  the  same  years  young  men, 
workers  in  the  Volunteers,  were  being  taken 
from  their  homes  and  from  their  employment, 
and,  without  charge  preferred,  deported  to  Eng- 
I'jnd — and  without  any  provision  being  made  for 
theca,  left  to  live  or  die  in  hostile  rural  English 
villages,  where  the  "Irish  traitors"  were  taunted 
ami  jeered,  and  made  the  constant  objects  of 
contumely  by  the  liberty-loving  Briton. 

(e)  In  1914,  after  the  Orange  Volunteers  of 
the  North  had  imported  all  the  arms  they  wanted, 


HAS  THE  LEOPARD  CHANGED  HIS  SPOTS? 

I 

and  transmitted  them  without  molottation  to 
every  corner  of  the  Province,  the  Irish  Volun- 
teers in  Dublin  imported  a  ship-load  of  arms 
which  they  landed  at  Howth.  On  receipt  of  this 
news  at  Dublin  Castle  a  regiment  of  soldiers  was 
immediately  marched  out  to  take  the  arms  from 
these  men.  The  soldiers  failed  in  their  task,  re- 
turned into  Dublin  downcast,  and  were  marching 
along  Bachelor's  Walk  to  their  barracks,  when  a 
number  of  boys,  women  and  children,  emerging 
trom  back  streets,  jeered  them  and  threw  at  th«tn 
some  sticks  and  stones.  Suddenly,  at  the  word 
of  command,  a  company  of  the  soldiers  wheeled, 
knelt  on  one  knee  on  the  street,  and  poured  two 
v^olleys  into  a  dense  throng — leaving  forty- 
eight  people  of  both  sexes  lying  in  their  blood, 
four  or  five  of  them  never  to  rise  again ! 

As  is  usual  in  Ireland,  not  the  slightest  pun- 
ishment was  meted  out  to  anyone  of  the  mur- 
derers, officers  or  soldiers. 

(f)  In  1916,  during  the  Insurrection  in  Dub- 
lin, one  of  the  officers  in  command,  Captain  Colt- 
hurst,  a  typical  British  Junker,  arrested  three 
men,  Skeffington,  Maclntyre,  and  Dickson,  who 
had  no  connection  with  the  Rising — and,  without 
confronting  them  with  any  charge,  without  court- 
martial  or  hearing  of  any  kind,  had  these  men 
taken  into  the  barrack  yard  and  shot  dead. 
Skeffington  had  witnessed  the  shooting  dead  9!  a 


IHELAND^  CASK 

boy  of  tixtten  years,  nuatd  CoAdy,  wlio  hsd 
C:iycn  Colthurst  a  ditrespectful  reply.  To  com- 
pel England  to  grant  tvtn  an  inquiry  into  these 
murders,  Heaven  and  earth  had  to  be  moved  after 
the  insurrectiott  WM  oror.  A  form  of  inquiry 
was  gone  throttgh*  the  brute  conveniently  ad- 
judged "insane"  and  ordered  to  be  confined  dur- 
ing his  Majevty't  pleasure! 

(g)  In  the  same  insurrection  the  English  sol- 
diers, exasperated  that  Irishmen  should  have  the 
presumption  to  fight  for  their  country,  and  un- 
able to  oust  the  fighters  who  held  their  quarters 
so  gallantly — visited  several  houses  in  non-fight- 
ing districts,  chiefly  in  King  Street,  and  there 
shot  to  death  an  unknown  numb«-  of  people,  es- 
timated at  forty,  who  were  guilty  of  no  crime 
and  against  whom  there  was  no  charge — ^and 
buried  them  in  the  cellars — from  which  their 
bodies  were  being  dug  up  during  the  week  suc- 
ceeding the  insurrection.  Heaven  and  earth  and 
the  British  Parliament  were  moved  by  Mr.  Gin- 
nell,  M.  P.,  to  get  an  inquiry  into  this  barbarous 
massacre.  But  even  an  inquiry  was  stubbornly 
refused — by  that  Empire  which  is  the  champion 
of  all  small  nations  that  have  fallta  under  the 
rule  of  her  trade  rival. 

(h)  '  A  little  matter  of  parellele  here,  will  bet- 
ter bring  out  England's  change  of  heart  toward 
Ireland : 

Jo6 


HAS  THE  LEGPARD  CHANGED  HIS  SPOTS? 

Th«  Boer  "burbarians"  some  years  ago  toc^ 
prisoner  the  Jameson  raid  criminals. 

The  "civilized"  Britons,  one  year  ago,  took 
prisoner  a  band  of  Irish  patriots.  . 

The  Britishers,  hired  by  British  capitalists, 
and  backed  by  English  statesmen  (who  wanted 
the  diamond  mines  of  Boer-land)  attempted  to 
seize  and  steal  the  government  and  the  liberties 
of  the  foreign  Republic  whose  hospitality  they 
were  enjoying,  and  whose  opportunities  were  en- 
richingf  them. 

The  Irish  patriots,  fired  by  their  country's 
wrongs,  and  backed  by  all  that  was  noble  of  their 
race,  arose  up  in  their  country,  In  brave  attempt 
to  wrest  their  own  country  from  the  robber  who 
held  fV— and  retam  it  to  its  rightful  owners  to 
rule. 

Britain  the  honorable,  which  had  hired  its  ras- 
cals to  do  their  vile  crime,  then  begged  for  the 
rascals'  lives;  and  by  the  barbarous  Boers  the 
lives  were  spared — of  both  leaders  and  men. 

Britain  the  liberty-loving,  backed  up  against 
the  nearest  wall  the  sixteen  leaders  of  the  Irish 
patriots  and  shot  them  dead. 

(i)  James  Connolly,  Commandant  of  the  Irish 
rebels,  a  noble  character  and  brarc  mm,  was 


IRELAND'S  CASE 


seriously  wonnded  in  the  Dublin  fighting.  The 
doctors  (disagreed  as  to  whether  the  wound  was 
vital  or  not.  England,  however,  was  not  taking 
any  chances.  In  his  bed  he  was  court-martialled, 
and  sentenced  to  death  for  the  unforgivable  crime 
of  fighting  for  the  freedom  of  a  small  nation 
under  other  heel  than  Germany's.  And  as,  of 
course,  he  was  unable  to  walk,  England's  un- 
daunted soldiers  carried  him  to  the  place  of  ex- 
ecution, and  there  propped  up  the  hopeless  crim- 
inal— while  her  firing  squad  sent  their  bullets 
through  his  heart. 

So  far  have  freedom  and  justice  been  extended 
in  Ireland  in  recent  years. 

And  FOURTH ; 

We  learn  that  England,  too,  is  dealing  impar- 
tially with  both  peoples  in  Ireland — the  people  of 
British  blood  and  sympathy  who  are  the  British 
garrison  in  Ireland — and  the  people  of  Irish 
blood,  the  Irish  Nationalists.     Let  us  see. 

Sir  Edward  Carson,  a  few  years  ago,  threat- 
ened to  lead  a  rebellion  of  the  British  in  Ireland 
' — the  Orangemen — against  the  British  Govern- 
ment if  it  dared  to  give  Ireland  even  a  miser- 
able shadow  of  Home  Rule.  He  publicly  an- 
nounced that  he  would  get  the  aid  of  Germany's 
Kaiser,  that  he  would  ally  himself  and  his  fol- 
lowers with  the  German  Empire,  and  get  the 

208 


HAS  THE  LEOPARD  CHANGED  HIS  SPOTS? 

Germans  to  fight  his  ^Dattlc  Sir  Edward  Carson 
went  to  Germany,  had  interviews  with  the  high- 
est officials  there,  lunched  with  the  Kaiser,  and 
had  a  German  military  man — a  German  spy — 
brought  into  Ulster,  to  study  the  situation  and 
the  ground.  Sir  Edward  Carson,  because  he  did 
this  only  for  the  laudable  purpose  of  holding  Ire- 
land down,  was  soon  after  elevated  to  the  Eng- 
lish Cabinet,  an  idol  of  the  English  people.  So 
far.  so  good. 

Next,  Roger  Casement,  an  Irish  Nationalist 
and  idealist,  working  to  uplift  and  free  Ireland, 
did  almost  exactly  the  same  things  as  Sir  Ed- 
ward Carson — except  that  he  did  not  introduce 
any  German  spy  into  Ireland. 

On  a  certain  morning  when  the  anti-Irish  Car- 
son, idolized  by  England,  and  weighted  with  hon- 
ors and  responsibility,  was  seated  in  the  British 
Cabinet,  the  noble  Casement  was  swinging  from 
a  gallows  tree ! 

In  this  connection  we  shall  pause  to  note  an  il- 
luminative incident  reported  in  the  newspapers 
on  the  day  of  Roger  Casement's  hanging.  The 
news  report  said,  "When  the  black  flag  was 
hoisted,  signal  that  the  law  had  taken  its  course, 
and  justice  been  vindicated,  there  went  up  from 
the  multitude"  (of  change-of-hcart  Britons) 
which  surged  in  front  of  the  jail,  a  great  howl 

•09 


IRELAND'S  CASK 

of  mingled  execration  of  the  trmhor  and  jiiMlatioii 
for  his  ending.  At  the  back  of  the  jail  walls  a 
little  group  of  Irishmen  and  women  were  knelt 
in  prayer." 

In  liiat  little  picture  is  presented  seven  cen- 
turies of  the  history  of  England  in  Ireland.  In 
the  jailyard  Erin  hanging  from  the  gallows 
tree,  while  the  British  mob  (better  spelt  Brut- 
ish) inspired  by  the  devil,  dance,  curse,  and  howl 
for  joy — the  while  at  the  back  of  the  jail  Erin's 
children  kneel  with  their  sorrows  and  their  God. 

Has  England  got  a  ehange  of  heart  toward  Ire- 
land? 

Four  centuries  ago  killing  the  natives  of  Ire- 
land was  a  field-sport  for  the  gentlemen  of  Eng- 
land. 

Three  centuries  ago  "Because  the  Queen's 
troopers  could  not  kill  Irishmen  fast  enough,  no 
Irishman  was  pardoned  unless  he  undertook  to 
murder  hte  friend  or  relative"  (Wm.  Parnell). 
And  Lord  Mountjoy's  Secretary  relates  that 
"Lord  Mountjoy  never  received  any  rebel  to 
mercy  but  such  as  had  drawn  blood  on  their  fel- 
low rebels." 

Nearly  a  century  and  a  half  ago,  Hussey 
Burgh,  in  the  Anglo-Irish  House  of  Commons, 
protested  "The  words  Crime,  Punishment  and 
Ireland  are  in  England's  eyes  synonymous.  They 

a  10 


HAS  THE  LBOPA&D  CHANGBD  HU  IVOTff 

at^  marked  m  blood  oa  tkc  margin  of  her  Sta- 
tutes. The  destructive  influence  of  the  laws 
have  borne  Ireland  down  to  a  state  of  Eg^^ptian 
bondage." 

Today  Mrs.  Gren  testifies  "The  evils  of  the 
English  conquest  have  never  for  a  moment  sub- 
sided ;  and  they  are  at  the  present  day  almost  as 
rife  as  they  were  seven  hundred  years  ago." 

Has  the  leopard  indeed  changed  his  spots? 


» 


•11 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
THE  SUMMING  UP 

I  have  tried  to  picture  of  the  ways  of  England 
with  Ireland — of  England's  methods  in  first  rop- 
ing, and  then  ruling,  another  race.  Though  the 
picture  be  only  roughly  sketched,  it  is  yet  suf- 
ficient to  show  by  what  unparalleled  barbarism 
she  imposed  her  rule  upon  Ireland,  and  by  what 
fearful  injustice  she  has  since  tried  to  maintain  it. 

If  England  had  discovered  Ireland,  an  uninhab- 
ited Island,  and  colonized  it  with  her  own  people, 
and  in  ruling  even  her  own  people  had  meted  out 
to  them  a  tithe  of  the  horrors  which  she  has  dealt 
to  the  Irish  people — inflicted  upon  them  a  hun- 
dreth  of  the  atrocities  which  she  has  perpetrated 
upon  the  Irish  race — all  humanity  would  cry  out 
that  her  own  people  must  cast  off  the  rule  of  their 
unnatural  mother — that  England  had  for  all  time 
forfeited  all  right  to  rule  her  own  colony,  of  her 
own  offspring. 

For  merely  trying  to  levy  unjust  taxation  upon 
her  own  kin  (as  well  as  the  other  races)  in  her 
own  American  Colonies,  even  that  portion  of  her 
Colony  population  which  was  Anglo-Saxon,  rose 
up  in  its  wrath  and  shook  off  the  yoke  of  the 
mother. 

212 


THE  SUMMING  UP 

In  Ireland's  case  the  argument  against  Eng- 
land's continued  rule  it  multiplied  a  thousand 
fold. 

Scncc,  through  Vdst  of  power,  England  sent  her 
devastating  army  into  an  ancient  land  to  conquer 
an  ancient  race  possessed  of  a  higher  civilization 
than  her  own — ravished  this  race,  murdered, 
plundered,  abased,  and  degraded,  and  wrought 
on  them  inhumanities  beyond  the  gift  of  pen  or 
tongue  to  describe — in  this  land,  put  out  a  light 
that  had  lighted  the  world's  path ;  and  through 
fearful  centuries  of  fearful  night  kept  savagely 
stamping  out  the  seeds  of  the  fire,  which,  having 
once  given  its  light  to  the  world,  was  ever  in  im- 
minent danger  of  doinf  so  again — and  from  the 
day  of  conquest  down  to  the  present  day,  imposed 
upon  this  people  "laws"  that  have  always  been 
synonymous  with  injustice  the  rankest,  and  op- 
pression the  most  terrible — a  thousand  times 
stronger,  then,  is  this  people's  claim  for  the  free- 
dom which  is  the  ordinary  due  of  all  peoples  oc- 
cupying the  land  of  their  forefathers. 

It  is  for  this  freedom — which  all  men  who  are 
MEN  must  claim — that  the  Irish  people  have, 
against  overwhelming  odds,  fought  an  astound- 
mg  fight,  lasting  through  seven  centuries — a  fight 
that  has  never  slackened — and  never  will  slacken 
till  the  end  is  won. 

The  winning  of  mere  Home  Rule,  even  if  it 

«1 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

were  real  Home  Rule,  instead  of  the  mockery  that 
was  lately  played  with  under  the  nick-name  of 
Home  Rule,  would,  of  course,  be  considered  by 
the  Irish  people  only  as  a  milestone  on  the  way 
to  their  g^oal. 

But  it  has  been  suggested  by  American  people, 
who  thereby  consider  themselves  liberal,  that  the 
Irish  question  should  be  settled  by  giving  to  Ire- 
land Colonial  Home  Rule — the  same  rule  that  is 
enjoyed  by  Canada  and  Australia. 

It  should  be  pointed  out  to  these  liberal  Amer- 
icans that,  in  the  first  place,  their  American  fore- 
fathers, many  of  them,  sprung  from  the  loins  of 
England,  would  not  have  been  content  to  accept 
from  their  mother,  England,  that  Colonial  Home 
Rule  which  they  now  think  should  satisfy  a  dis- 
tinct race  inhabiting  a  distinct  country. 

Next,  Canada  and  Australia,  enjoying  Colonial 
Home  Rule,  are  countries  colonized  by  England 
and  inhabited  by  England's  own  children.  In 
accepting  Colonial  Home  Rule  they  only  unite 
in  bonds  of  aflFection  with  their  motherland  and 
mother  race. 

And  in  the  third  place,  the  motherland  of  Can- 
ada and  Australia  is  not  now,  and  has  not  been 
through  centuries  past,  striving  to  starve  their 
bodies,  and  crush  their  spirits,  and  kill  their  souls 
—  has  not  for  centuries  been  plundering^  and  mur- 


THE  SUMMING  UP 

dtring  them,  and  devastatms;  their  land.  If  such 
had  been  the  case,  Australia  and  Canada,  far 
from  beiiif  content  with  Colonial  Home  Rule, 
would  l<mg  aince  have  rebelled  against  thetf  own 
mother  and  thrown  her  ofiE. 

In  Ireland  we  have  an  aactent  race,  as  distinct 
from  the  £a§li3h  raee  as  is  the  French  from  the 
GeriAaMi,  the  Scandinavian  from  the  Turk.  This 
distinct  atid  aacient  race  inhabits  a  distinct  and 
separate  country.  To  this  raee  experience  has 
diseevered  a«  reason  ffetr  drawing  near  to^  but  a 
thousand  ^arlvl  reasons  for  pushing  awaj  from, 
tli^e  *^eo&querors"  who  are  still  striving  t»  hold 
them  by  tht  same  brute  foree  by  which  they  first 
captured  them.  And  physically,  morally  and 
spiritually,  this  struggling  race  is  certaiiily  not 
inferior  to  the  averse  races  of  earth  tiiat  now 
do  hold  their  ffeedcHU — and  more  certainly  not 
inferior  tis  the  raee  which  regards  itself  as  com- 
missioned by  God  to  dominate  its  neighbors. 

For  It  *s  well  always  to  keep  in  mind  that  Ire- 
land's fight  is,  not  merely  agtiinst  foreign  misrule, 
but  against  FOREIGN  RULE. 

And  in  the  Irishmen's  stating  and  proving  of 
Ireland's  elame,  whole  tomes  of  argument  and 
reams  ol  reasoning  may  be  given  to  the  world 
iti  fcmr  w«rds— WE  Wi^TT  OUR  COUNTRY. 

MtfAy  fdreignera,  deeply  sympathetic  toward 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

Ireland,  and  desirous  of  Ireland's  prosperity,  pro- 
test upbraidingly,  "Why  not  forget  the  past,  and 
join  in  a  true  partnership  with  England — for  Ire- 
land's best  benefit?" 

To  this  protest  there  are  three  rather  effective 
replies. 

In  the  first  place,  if  England,  with  her  grasp 
still  upon  the  throat  of  prostrate  Ireland,  and  her 
heel  sunk  into  Ireland's  bowels,  made  the  propo- 
sition. "Join  me  on  equal  terms  or  be  d to 

you" — prostrate  Ireland,  being  possessed  of  some 
trace  of  spirit,  could  not  accept  such  highway- 
man invitation.  It  is  only  after  England  has  let 
go  her  hold  on  Ireland's  throat,  and  that  Ireland, 
risen  to  her  feet  and  standing  erect,  looks  Eng- 
land fearlessly  in  the  face,  that  she  can  with 
credit  say  whether  or  not  she  wishes  such  part- 
nership. The  most  cursory  examination  of  the 
character  of  the  inviting  partner  (as  displayed  in 
the  previous  chapters)  will  show  the  reader  what 
would  be  Ireland's  prompt  decision. 

In  the  second  place,  the  English  race  and  the 
Irish  race  are  as  dissimilar  as  the  plow  horse  and 
the  race  horse.  Yoke  in  the  same  team  the  best 
race  horse  in  the  world  with  the  best  plow  horse 
in  the  world  and  the  very  quick  result  will  be — 
no  race  horse. 

In  the  third  place,  there  is  infinitelv  less  reason 
for  Ireland's   allying  with    England!    than   with 

2l6 


THE  SUMMING  UP 

France,  Spain,  Germany  or  America.  For,  if  a 
practical  and  sensible  person  be  looking  for  a 
partner  he  will  hardly,  out  of  a  world-full,  choose 
the  one  and  only  one  that  stabbed,  beat,  belabored 
him,  knocked  him  down,  jumped  on  him.  Of  all 
the  many  practical  and  sensible  Americans  who 
have  recommended  to  me  this  "practicar*  solution 
of  the  Irish  question  I  could  not  find  one  who 
would  say  that  in  his  own  personal  business  he 
would  for  a  moment  dream  of  allying  himself 
with  such  a  partner. 

Finally,  the  thousands  of  well-meaning  people 
who  wish  what  is  best  for  Ireland,  point  out 
seven  "insuperable"  obstacles  to  Ireland's  free- 
dom.    They  are: 

1.  The  Anglo-Irish — the  Orangemen  and  all 
of  the  other  Anti-Irish  Irishmen — will  never  be 
induced  to  accept  separation  from  England. 

2.  In  a  free  Ireland  the  Irish  Catholics  can 
not  be  trusted  to  treat  the  Protestant  minority 
fairly. 

3.  Anyhow,  the  Catholic  majority,  which  all 
the  world  knows  to  be  poor  and  thriftless,  could 
not  be  permitted  to  run  the  progressive,  indus- 
trious and  wealthy  Protestant  minority. 

4.  Ireland  is  financially  unable  to  run  her- 
self. 

5.  Because  of  Ireland's     strategic     position, 

217 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

England,  cvtn  with  the  beat  intention  In  the 
world,  could  not,  in  »elf-defcnie,  afford  to  have 
a  free  Ireland  at  her  back  door. 

6.  If  England  freed  Ireland  tomorrow  one  or 
other  big  Continental  power  would  grab  h»r  up 
on  the  day  after. 

7.  Ireland  has  been  for  so  many  lon^  cen- 
turiee  conquered,  that,  according  to  the  law  of 
Nations,  she  has  long  lost  her  claim  to  freedom. 

We  shall  look  over  those  seven  insuperable 
obstacles. 

I.  The  real  Irish  in  Ireland  will  hardly  |five 
up  in  despair  if  the  Orangemen  and  other  Anglo- 
Irish,  refuse  to  accept  separation  fpom  Kngland. 
Generously  consenting  to  bury  in  obllvioH  the 
fact  that  these  Anglo-Irish  are  in  enjoyment  of 
the  fattest  parts  of  Ireland  which  their  forebeeps 
wrongly  obtained — and  consenting  to  foirget  all 
the  brutalities  and  all  the  savageries  by  which 
the  Anglo-Irish  continued  to  secure  themselves 
in  the  possession  of  the  goods  and  of  the  power 
of  Ireland,  the  real  Irish  people  have,  for  a  hun- 
dred years,  been  stretching  hands  of  forgiveness 
and  entreaty  to  these  people,  begging  them  to  be 
loyal  to  the  country  in  which  they  live— and  on 
which  they  thrive — begging  them  to  accept  for- 
giveness, and  to  be  brothers  working  with  their 
Irish  brothers,  shoulder  to  shoulder  for  Ireland. 
Today,  as  ever,   the   hands     of    the    Irish     are 

218 


THE  SUMMING  UP 

itretched  to  their  Anglo-Irish  brethren.  If  they 
choose  to  accept,  and  to  give  their  loyalty  to,  the 
country  that  has  borne  them  and  br«d  them,  cher- 
ished and  fee  them,  then  they  are  equally  wel- 
come with  their  Irish  brethren  to  til  the  benefits 
and  all  the  joys  of  a  free  Ireland.  But  if  they 
find  they  cannot  bear  to  be  separated  from  their 
beloved  England,  they  are  made  heartily  wel- 
come to  bring  themselves  to  the  country  to 
which  they  give  their  love  and  their  loyalty.  "If 
you  do  not  love  me,  you  are  free  to  leave  me,"  is 
a  solution  both  simple  and  just. 

2.  To  get  the  measure  of  Irish  Catholic  intol- 
erance, when  they  have  their  old  persecutors  in 
their  power,  the  reader  need  only  be  referred 
backward  some  chapters. 

Note  there  just  how  intolerant  in  the  sixteenth 
century  were  these  Irish  Catholics  when  the 
reign  of  Mary  put  Papistry  in  the  ascendant. 

Note  how  intolerant  they  were  in  the  seven- 
teenth century,  when  they  had  all  power  in  their 
hands  at  the  beginning  of  the  WilHtmite  wars — 
in  circumstances  under  which  an  angol  might 
well  be  excused  for  being  intolerant. 

In  the  beginning  of*  the  nineteenth  century, 
William  Parnell,  who  Ifved  his  life  among  tht 
Irish  people,  safd,  "The  Irish  Roman  CathoMea 
bigots!  Perverse  and  superficial  men  have  ad- 
vanced this  falsehood  in  the  very  teeth  of  fact, 

319 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

and  contrary  to  the  most  distinct  evidence  of  his- 
tory." The  ease  of  the  Irish  Catholics,  he  says, 
it  the  only  instance  known  to  history  of  op- 
pressed and  persecuted  ones,  on  returning  to 
power,  refraining  from  visiting  vengeance  upon 
those  who  had  trampled  them. 

In  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  the 
Presbyterian  Isaac  Butt  testified  (in  his  "Plea 
for  the  Celtic  Race")  "Limerick  and  Cork  (Cath- 
olic cities)  are  free  from  religious  dissension.  In 
(Protestant)  Beliist,  the  town  has  been  held  for 
days  by  partisan  mobs." 

And  in  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  century, 
the  Protestant  historian,  Mrs.  Green,  testifies, 
"Irish  Protestants  never  had  cause  for  fear  in 
Ireland,  on  religious  grounds." 

While  such  an  idea  as  a  Catholic  Mayor  for 
Protestant  Dcrry  and  Protestant  Belfast  is  laugh- 
ably absurd,  such  Catholic  cities  as  Dublin,  Cork, 
Limerick,  Kilkenny,  often  honor  Protestant  cit- 
i.-ens  by  making  them  their  first  magistrates. 
And  wliile  the  idea  of  a  Catholic  Member  of 
Parliament  sitting  for  any  of  the  Protestant 
Counties  of  the  Northeast  is  ludicrously  laugh- 
able, purely  Catholic  Counties  in  both  North  and 
South  frequently  elect  Protestants  to  represent 
ihem  in  Parliament. 

And  finally,  and  above  all,  be  it  remembered 
that  almost  every  man  whom  the  Irish  Catholics 

2JO 


THE  SUMMING  UP 

cbose  as  their  National  leader  from  the  days  of 
Robert  Emmet  to  the  days  of  Charles  Stuart 
Parnell,  has  been  Protestant. 

Tliere  is  bigotry  in  Ireland — bigotry  of  the 
most  intolerant,  most  rampant,  type — but  it  is 
almost  entirely  confined  to  non-Catholics  of  the 
Brito-Irish  part  of  the  population. 

"Forgiveness  to  the  injured  doth  belong, 
They  ne'er  forgive  who  do  the  wrong." 

In  the  case  of  Catholic  Ireland,  the  bigotry 
barrier  comes  down  with  a  crash. 

3.  The  legend  that  the  Celtic  (Catholic)  ma- 
jority is  shiftless,  and  the  English  and  Scotch 
blooded  (Protestant)  minority  is  thrifty,  pro- 
gressive, and  wealthy,  has  been  so  often  shouted 
by  the  shouters,  that  a  multitude  of  even  think- 
ing people  have  come  to  believe  it. 

[This  is  a  typical  English  legend  about  Ireland 
— and  displays  typical  English  brilliancy — but 
for  so  long  has  it  done  foul  service  that  it  is  time 
now  to  explode  the  legend  once  and  for  all. 

Here  is  the  recipe  for  concocting  the  legend — 
First,  assault  your  man,  blackjack  him,  bind  him 
hand  and  foot,  rob  him  of  all  he  has — and  bestow 
the  plunder  on  your  friend.  Next,  pass  laws  for- 
bidding the  victim  to  arise,  forbidding  him  to  un- 
tie his  hands  and  feet,  and  forbidding  any  one  to 

aai 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

render  him  aid.  Finally,  call  upon  the  world  to 
behold  the  contrast  of  the  shiftless,  thriftless 
creature  who  wallows  in  his  misery — and  th« 
splendid,  progressive,  industrious,  well-tonlo  fel- 
low (your  friend)  who  stands  erect. 

And  there  should  be  a  most  convincing  caae 
against  the  victim. 

Only,  unfortunately  for  your  case,  while  you 
are  pre-occupied  telling  the  world  about  his  shift- 
lessness,  the  corded  creature  was  untying  the 
knots  with  his  teeth,  painfully  rising  up,  and  des- 
perately trying  to  improve  his  condition. 

And  while  you  were  pre-occupied  telling  the 
world  about  your  thrifty,  progressive,  industri- 
ous, and  wealthy  friend,  this  fine  upstanding 
friend  was  getting  bowed  and  broken.  "Ill  got, 
ill  gone." 

For  the  million  who  were  misled  into  believ- 
ing the  English  legend  about  Celtic  fhiftlessness 
and  British  thriftincss,  the  following  few  cold 
facts  will  prove  a  tonic. 

Dr.  O'Riordan,  in  "Catholicity  and  Progress," 
quotes  from  the  Government  statistics  (of  '82 — 
evidently  the  latest  then  available)  the  compar- 
ative income  tax  assessments  for  boasting  Ulster 
a^id  for  the  miserable,  more  Celtic,  provinces. 
Hcr«  they  are: 

£      8.    d. 
Leinster 10      9    6  per  hmd 

223 


THE  SUMMINC  UP 

Mun»t«r 6      G    7    "      * 

Ulster 5     14    s    "      " 

Connaught    ...3137"       ** 

And  the  comparative  figtiras  for  Uuiomtt  tax  on 
profiti  in  the  professions  and  trades: 

£  a.    4. 

Leinatcr 4  2     4  p«r  hoad 

Ulster     I  8     i     "       " 

Munster i  74"       " 

The  road«r  will  admit  that  'tis  m/Ktiii  ^^  the 
Ulster  legfcnd  should  be  spoilt — bfr  Providence 
and  the  taxing-man. 

Again,  within  Ulster  itself,  where  tke  Catfaolic 
Celt  was  robbed  of  his  all,  and  d^ed  all  rights 
and  privileges — and  everything  l€vis}ied  oa  the 
Protestant  Scot — the  former  is  "eoming  back" 
at  the  same  amazing  rate  at  which  t-he  latter  is 
going  under. 

Today  fifty-six  per  cent,  of  th*  farms^  and 
fifty-seven  per  cent,  of  the  farmers  in  Ulster  are 
Catholic  Celts — the  men  who  had  bpoa  r«>bbed  of 
their  all.  Today  these  people  have  9»miv&l  more 
than  one«half  of  the  ParIiani«it€Liy  represfrnta- 
ti^  ef  the  proviace  that  had  be«n  itolen  from 
t}iem.  Today  the  Ulster  Catholic,  whose  fore- 
fat^rs  had  been  hunted  into  the  hal^  and  the 
focki  of  the  most  barren  mountains — »*  stream- 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

ing  down  the  valleys  and  flowing  over  the  fer- 
tile plains,  winning  back,  buying  them  back,  from 
the  usurpers'  descendants  who  are  fast  losing 
their  grasp  upon  them,  losing  their  pre-eminent 
wealth,  losing  their  footing — "melting  like  the 
snow  off  the  ditch  in  May." 

In  the  city  of  Derry — a  typical  case — ^where, 
only  a  hundred  years  ago,  no  Catholic  dare  en- 
gage in  any  trade  or  profession,  and  no  Catholic 
dare  own  a  house,  and  no  Catholic  dare  live — in 
that  city,  to-day,  the  Catholic  Celt,  swarming  in 
the  trades  and  professions,  forms  a  majority  of 
the  population,  and  returns  his  choice  as  Parlia- 
mentary representative  for  that  once  great 
stronghold  of  Ascendancy. 

And,  as  final  illustration  of  the  progressiveness 
CI  the  Scottish  blooded  in  Ulster,  as  compared 
with  the  thirftlessness  of  the  Celt,  I  would  in- 
stance from  Dr.  O'Riordan's  book  (a  matter  like- 
wise recorded  by  Butt  in  "The  Irish  Land  and 
the  Irish  People")  the  case  of  the  Protestant 
Colonization  Societies,  founded  in  1830  and  1840, 
when  the  Ascendancy  Party  took  alarm  at  the 
rapid  melting  away  of  the  Protestant  population 
and  the  fearfully  rapid  advancement  of  the  Cath- 
olic— or  as  more  picturesquely  put  in  the  Pros- 
pectus of  the  1840  Society,  "Where  the  estab- 
lished Church  once  stood,  now  stands  the  Popish 

224 


THE  SUMMING  UP 

Mass-house,  pouring  forth  the  soul-destroying 
doctrines  of,  immorality  of  Maynooth!" 

To  remedy  this  deplorable  state  of  things  and 
keep  Ulster  Protestant,  the  Societies  proposed 
to  take  great  tracts  of  landlords*  demesne  land, 
colonize  them  with  Protestants,  build  houses  for 
these  people,  and  start  them  on  the  way  to 
wealth.  In  1832,  the  first  colony  was  planted — on 
the  estate  of  Sir  Edward  Hayes  in  County  Don- 
egal. Protestant  families  were  selected  in  thrifty 
Scotland,  brought  over  and  given  houses  and 
tarms — after  each  of  them  had,  for  the 
world's  good,  signed  and  sealed  this  chief  con- 
dition— "Every  tenant  distinctly  understands  and 
agrees  that  no  Roman  Catholic,  under  any  pre- 
tence whatever,  shall  be  permitted  to  reside  or 
be  employed  in  this  colony."  The  result  of  the 
laudable  project  is  very  forcibly  put  in  the  sim- 
ple report  obtained  fifty  years  later  from  a  resi- 
dent in  a  nearby  locality — "There  is  not  a  rem- 
nant of  the  original  settlers  in  the  place  for  many 
years.  They  remained  for  some  time  till  they 
spent  any  means  they  had,  and  went  away, 
paupers,  .  .  .  The  houses  are  now  in  a 
tumble-down  condition." 

That  is  to  say,  in  the  place  where  the  oppressed 
and  persecuted  Celt  thrived  so  that  he  went  forth 
to  buy  up  and  absorb  the  possessions  of  his  rich 
neighbors  on  the  fertile  plains,  the  industrious 

225 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

Scot,  started  with  gifts  of  land  and  house,  and 
aided  by  every  favor  the  powers  could  show, 
sank  into  pauperdom,  and  disappeared  in  the 
course  of  a  couple  of  decades! 

And  now  that  we  can  appreciate  the  rare  flavor 
of  it,  let  us  repeat — "The  Catholic  majority  which 
all  the  world  knows  to  be  poor  and  thriftless 
could  not  be  permitted  to  run  the  progressive, 
industrious,   and    wealthy    Protestant   minority." 

4.  But,  anyhow,  Ireland  is  financially  unable 
to  run  itself. 

Here,  hark  back  to  the  Childers'  Commission 
(of  1896),  composed  almost  entirely  of  Britons, 
appointed  by  the  British  Government — for  the 
purpose  of  finding  the  facts  about  the  financial  re- 
lations of  Ireland  and  Britain — hark  back  to  that 
Commission,  and  note  its  main  findings: 

a)  That  the  running  of  Ireland  cost  (propor- 
tionately) nearly  twice  as  much  as  the  running 
of  England. 

(b)  That  the  excessive  cost  seemed  to  them 
to  be  caused  by  Ireland's  connection  with  Brit- 
ain. 

(c)  That  Ireland  herself  was  not  only  paying 
a  fair  cost  for  her  own  running — but  that, 

(d)  Ireland,  herself,  was  paying  an  unfair  ex- 
cess cost 

226 


THE  SUMMING  UP 

(e)  That  Ireland,  besides,  was  not  only  pay- 
ing her  fair  contribution  to  the  Imperial  purse 
(paying  for  holding  herself  down) — but  also, 

(f)  That  Ireland  was  paying  a  very  large 
svm  over  and  above  her  fair  contribution  to  the 
Imperial  purse — paying  one-eleventh  of  the  tax 
revenue  of  the  three  Kingdoms,  while  her  tax  ca- 
pacity was  only  one-twentieth. 

(g)  That  in  excessive  Imperial  contribution 
alone — principal  and  interest — England  had  then 
rcbbed  from  Ireland  $1,250,000,000  (an  im- 
mensely larger  sum  now). 

"And  while  this  heavy  ransom  was  being  ex- 
acted," says  Mrs.  Green,  "Ireland  was  represent- 
ed as  a  beggar,  never  satisfied,  at  the  gates  of 
England." 

So,  while  the  reader  now  sees  that  Ireland  has 
f.een  financially  able  to  run  and  outrun  herself — 
he  may  also  divine  the  truth  that  her  master  is 
determined  she  shall  not  be  long  so. 

5.  England,  in  self-defense,  cannot  afford  a 
free  Ireland  at  her  back-door, 

England  can  no  more  afford  to  "have  a  free  Ire- 
land at  her  back-door  than  can  Germany  afford 
to  have  a  free  Belgium,  or  France  a  free  Switz- 
erland, Austria  to  have  a  free  Servia,  or  America 
a  free  Mexico  alongside  her — no  more  than  can 
John   D.   Rockefeller's  Stanr^ard   Oil    afford    to 

227 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

have  a  free   little  competitor  running  his  little 
one-horse  store  just  over  the  way. 

If  it  be  the  New  Justice  that  the  greedy  brute 
among  either  the  nations  or  the  corporations  has 
the  divine  right  to  gobble  up  the  little  fellow  who 
hes  near  him,  or  if  it  be  the  new  morals  to  en- 
throne Strategy  on  the  emptied  seat  of  Justice, 
then  we  have  first  !2:ot  to  reform  Heaven  before 
we  can  reform  earth  to  our  liking,  in  the  new 
era. 

6.  If  England  freed  Ireland  tomorrow,  one 
of  the  Continental  powers  would  gobble  Ireland 
up  on  the  day  after. 

If  England  freed  Ireland  tomorrow,  Ireland, 
instead  of  having  one  army  and  one  fleet  guard- 
ing her,  would,  through  the  jealousy  of  the  Pow- 
ers, next  day  be  guarded  by  half  a  dozen  armies 
and  half  a  dozen  fleets.  For  her  own  selfish  in- 
terests, England  would  then  have  to  guard  Ire- 
land more  zealously  than  ever — against  the  greed 
of  the  other  Powers — and  the  other  Powers 
would  have  to  guard  it  against  the  greed  of  Eng- 
land. Ireland  would  have  the  same  greedy, 
jealous  protection  that  has  Servia,  Holland, 
Switzerland  and  Denmark. 

7.  Ireland  has  been  so  long  conquered  that  by 
the  law  of  nations  she  has  lost  her  claim  to  free- 
dom. 

There  is  many  a  rank  injustice  established  by 

228 


THE  SUMMING  UP 

the  Law  of  Nations — the  law  of  the  big  trusts 
tramea  against  tne  little  leliows.  But  tiie  law 
oi  Heaven  is  a  little  way  above  and  beyond  the 
Law  oi  Nations. 

Moreover,  one  might  ask  the  advocate  of  the 
Law  of  Nations,  Atter  how  many  years  does  in- 
justice become  justice?  After  how  many  years' 
persistence  in  doing  a  wrong  will  that  wrong 
automatically  become  a  right? 

And  further — and  this  pomt  is  most  important 
— will  the  reader  remember  that  in  realit>'  Ire- 
land has  never  been  conquered? 

A  nation  is  never  conquered  till  its  resistance 
has  been  beaten  down,  its  spirit  broken,  and  that, 
despairingly  dropping  its  hands,  it  cries,  I  give  in. 
During  her  long  long  struggle,  Ireland  has  been 
a  thousand  times  defeated,  but  never  once  con- 
quered. A  thousand  times  beaten  to  earth,  she 
has  a  thousand  times  returned  to  the  struggle, 
renewed  and  determined.  From  the  day  England 
first  set  her  foot  in  Ireland,  down  to  the  present 
day,  Ireland  has  never  ceased  to  fight  the  injus- 
tice— it  has  been  one  prolonged  seven  hundred 
years'  war  between  little,  weak  Ireland,  and  great 
strong  England — the  struggle  has  never  abated, 
never  slackened  its  intensity.  And  if  England 
should  still  persist  in  her  unjust  claim,  all  who 
know  the  Irish  nature  know  well  that  Ireland  will 
continue  the  war  for  another     seven     hundred 

229 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

years — for  seventeen  hundred  years,  if  necessary, 
\Vhat  man,  or  what  nation,  or  Law  of  Nations, 
decides  that  Ireland,  never  having  ceased  to  fight, 
iorfeited  her  right  of  freedom?  And,  then,  at 
what  point  in  the  struggle,  at  what  date,  did  she 
forfeit  this  right?  Or,  if  she  continues  the  strug- 
gle, when  will  she  have  forfeited  it? 

Today  Germany  has  overrun  Belgium.  The 
Belgians  are  fighting  for  their  country's  freedom. 
All  Americans  are,  properly,  applauding  the  Bel- 
gians in  their  brave  struggle.  There  is  no  Amer- 
ican so  unprincipled  as  to  question  Belgium's 
light  to  freedom — none  so  absurd  as  to  advocate 
that  Belgium  should  be  satisfied  with  Home 
Kule  under  Germany — even  if  under  the  provi- 
sion of  this  Home  Rule  Belgium  were  granted  all 
power  over  Belgian  taxation.  There  is  no  Amer- 
ican so  unjust  as  to  advocate^  Colonial  Home 
Kule  under  Germany  as  a  settlement  of  the  Bel- 
gian question. 

Now.  if  we  consider  the  Belgian  fight  contin- 
ued indefinitely — after  how  many  years,  or  how 
n'any  centuries,  of  struggle,  will  Americans  begin 
to  preach  t^nt  Belgians  have  forfeited  their  claim 
to  rule  Belgium?  WoiiM  not  a  true  and  just 
man.  the  more  applaud  Belsrium  the  longer  she 
sustained  the  unenual  struggle?  And  would  he 
not  <?ay  t^at  her  claim  to  freedom  increased  with 
every    additional    year    she    fought    the    unequal 

V  230 


THE  SUMMING  UP 

fight — that  the  claim  multiplied  a  hundred-fold 
foi  every  terrible  century  during  winch  bhe 
bravely   prolonged  itr 

When,  then,  any  other  nation  on  earth,  strug- 
gling lor  Its  treedom,  wuuid,  with  a  prolongation 
ol  tiie  struggle,  win  more  applause,  and  more 
hrmly  estaL.ish  its  claim  to  treedom,  in  the 
world's  eyes,  why  snouid  Ireland  alone  forfeit 
her  claim  by  having  prolonged  her  gallant  and 
marvellous  struggle  througn  ugonizmg  ceniur- 
its? 

And  thus  are  disposed  of  the  seven  insuperable 
obstacles  to  Ireland's  freedom.  Than  Ireland, 
no  other  nation  on  earth  has  more  unquestionably 
established  its  claim  to -freedom. 

And  Ireland  shall  win.  Though,  if  she  were 
never  to  win,  the  very  fight  for  freedom  carries 
with  it  all  the  spiritual  benefits  of  freedom.  They 
who  struggle  for  fredom  are  already  free. 

While  other  races,  with  less  moral  stamina,  ^ 
would  long  since  have  resigned  themselves  to 
the  seemingly  inevitable,  and  sunk  into  the 
degradation  of  slavery — becoming  faithful  slaves 
to  kind  masters — the  Irish  people,  scorning  the 
line  of  least  resistance,  chose  suflfering  and  strug- 
gle— and  thereby  found  salvation — preserved  and 
festered  all  that  was  noble  in  their  natures,  and 

231 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

from  the  seed  of  suffering  even  now  reap  a  heav- 
enly hairvest. 

Ireland,  a  nation,  shall,  with  God's  help,  live 
and  flourish. 

With  her  wonderful  spirit  vision  Ethna  Car- 
bery  foresaw  the  glorious  dawning — as  set  forth 
in  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  her  poems: 

MO  CHRAOIBHIN  CNO 

A  Sword  of  Light  hath  pierced  the  dark,  our  eyes 
have  seen  the  Star; 

Oh  Eire,  leave  the  ways  of  sleep  now  days  of 
promise  are; 

,The  rusty  spears  upon  your  walls  are  stirring  to 
and  fro. 

In   dreams  they    front    uplifted    shields — Then 
wake. 

Mo  Chraoibhin  Cnol 

The  little  waves  creep  whispering  where  sedges 

fold  you  in, 
And  round  you  are  the  barrows  of  your  buried 

kith  and  kin; 

♦Pronounced  Mo  chreeyecn  no.  "My  cluster  of 
nats" — my  brown-haired  girl,  L  e.,  Ireland,  When 
U  was  treason  to  sing  of  Ireland  openly,  the  olden 
poets  sang  of  and  to  their  beloved  under  many  fig- 
arative   names. 

233 


THE  SUMMING  UP 

Oh  I  famine-wasted,  fever-burnt,  they  faded  like 

the  snow. 
Or  set  their  hearts  to  meet  the  steel — for  you. 
Mo  Chraoibhin  Cno! 

Their  names  are  blest,  their  caoine  sung,  our 

bitter  tears  are  dried; 
We  bury  Sorrow  in  their  graves,  Patience  we 

cast  aside; 
Within  the  gloom  we  hear  a  voice  that  once  was 

ours  to  know — 
'TIS   Freedom — Freedom  calling  loud,  Arise! 
Mo  Chraoibhin  Cno! 

Afar  beyond  that  empty  sea,  on  many  a  battle- 
place, 

iYour  sons  have  stretched  brave  hands  to  Death 
before  the  foeman's  face — 

Down  the  sad  silence  of  your  rest  their  war- 
notes  faintly  blow, 

And  bear  an  echo  of  your  name — of  yours, 
Mo  Chraoibhin  Cno! 

Then  wake,  a  gradh!     We  yet  shall  win  a  gold 

crown  for  your  head. 
Strong  wine  to  make  a  royal  feast — ^the  white 

wine  and  the  red — 
And  in  your  oaken  mether  the  yellow  mead  shall 

flow 

233 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

W  ikixt  day  you  rise,  in  all  men's  eyes  a  yucen, 
Mu  Curaoibiim  Luol 

The  silver  speech  our  fathers  knew  shall  onco 

again  be  heard. 
The  til  c-iit  story,  crooning  song,  sweeter  than  lilt 

ot  bird; 
Vour  quicken-tree  shall  break  in  flower,  its  ruddy 

truit  siiail  glow, 
And  the  Gentle  People  dance  beneath  its  shade — ■ 
Mo  Chraoibhin  Cnol 

There  shall  be  peace  and  plenty — the  kindly  open 
door; 

Blessings  on  all  who  come  and  go — the  prosper- 
ous or  the  poor — 

The  misty  glens  and  purple  hills  a  fairer  tint  shall 
show, 

When  your  splendid  Sun  shall  ride    the    skies 
again — 

Mo  Chraoibhin  Cnol 

THE  PARTING  WORD 
In  this  work  is  sketched  an  outline  only  of  one 
of  the  saddest,  terrible  tragedies  the  world  ever 
witnessed — the  crucifixion  of  a  noble  nation. 

The  picture  is  incomplete.  But  the  little  that 
has  here  been  set  down  suffices  to  show  that  the 
inhuman  barbarity  and  demonaic  savagery  with 

234 


THE  SUMMING  UP 

which  Ireland  has  been  ravaged — from  the  first 
day  of  the  English  invasion  to  the  present  day — 
is  without  parallel  in  history.  The  reader  will 
have  seen  how  an  ancient  land  which  led  the 
world  in  culture,  was  ravished  by  the  destroyer, 
and  that  light  which  had  been  Europe's  lode  stcr, 
extinguished — how  an  honorable  race  was  de- 
graded— a  brave  people  beaten  into  the  earth. 
He  will  also  see  how,  in  this  worthy  land,  a  pow- 
er which  successfully  presents  itself  to  the  world 
ES  a  pillar  of  liberty  and  a  pioneer  of  civilization, 
has,  with  wanton  deviltry,  througfhout  seven  cen- 
turies, wrought  havoc  and  spread  desolation, 
tramplinj3^  the  smiling  garden  into  a  piteous  wil- 
derness, and  hounding  its  noble  denizens  like 
savage  beasts. 

The  reader  will  now,  I  hope,  better  understand 
and  appreciate  the  strange  Irish  spirit  which, 
without  failing,  has  watched  the  millions  of  the 
power  of  her  manhood  and  the  flower  of  her 
womanhood  driven  out  from  her,  and  scattered 
hke  chaff  to  the  winds  of  the  world— and  without 
quailing,  has  vvitne-^sed  every  foot  of  green  hill- 
side again  and  again  crimsoned  with  the  blood 
o!  her  best.  And  he  will,  I  think,  understand 
how  it  is  that  in  Ireland  a  felon's  cap  is  honored 
above  a  King's  crown — that  the  dungeon  cells 
wherein,  throiiofh  the  generations,  the  noblest  of 
our  race  rotted  or  went   i       I.  arr^  reverenced  as 

235 


IRELAND'S  CASE 

Saints'  cells — and  how,  here,  thousands  of  men 
and  women  would  crush  and  struggle  for  the 
privilege  of  kissing  the  steps  that  go  up  to  the 
gallows-tree — how  the  jail  has,  for  Ireland,  be- 
come a  holy  place,  and  the  gibbet  a  sacred  sign. 
He  will  realize  that  Ireland  has  agonized  in 
tlie  garden  of  the  ages,  and  sweat  a  bloody  sweat : 
over  the  cruel  flints,  bloodied  by  her  bleeding  feet, 
through  the  jeering  multitude,  she  has  passed, 
dragging  her  heavy  cross,  and  struggled  up  her 
toilsome  Calvary — and,  taunted  by  the  jeers  and 
pricked  by  the  spears  of  the  tyrant's  servitors, 
endured  her  terrible  crucifixion. 

But  the  faithful  weep  not,  knowing  that  the 
Easter  of  the  crucified  cometh — the  glorious  ris- 
ing time,  the  Resurrection  Mom ! 


(Spread  the  Light — ^The  reader  is  requested  to 
lend  this  book  to  an  American  friend  who  needs 
to  know  the  truth  about  Ireland — and  to  contin- 
ue lending  it  till  it  wears  itself  out  doing  worthy- 
work.  Both  God  and  Ireland  will  bless  the  eager 
lender.  And  the  borrower  won't  fail  to  get  a 
whiff  of  the  blessing). 

236 


SPREAD  THE  UGHT. 

If  IRELAND'S  CASE  has  won  your  approval,  we  want  you 
to  help  to  bring  it  to  the  attention  of  every  tyranny-hating, 
liberty-loving  American— every  College  President  and  I'l-dfes- 
sor.  School  Teacher,  Clergyman,  (of  every  denomination), 
Banker,  Lawyer,  Doctor,  Congressman,  Senator— and  t.liu3, 
with  IRELAND'S  CASIC  win  ardent  recruits  for  Ireland's 
cause. 

Get  Irish  Societies  to  order  the  book  in  quantities,  for  general 
distribution. 

Get  booksellers  to  stock  the  book. 

Get  ardent  lovers  of  Ireland,  "men  and  women,  to  seH  It. 

Get  your  neighbours  to  buy  it,  beg  it,  borrow  it,  or  steal  It, 
from   you.  ' 

Get  It  into  tlie  hands,  and  heads,  and  hearts  of  everyone, 
everywhere. 

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IRISH    LEVTUIiE-RECITALa    BY 

SEUMAS  MacMANUS 

are   acepted     for  any    part   of   America,   by 
The    Management    of    SIUJMAS    MacMANUS 

P.    O.    Box    131S.    New    York   City 

SUHJECT8: 

Readin<ra  from   His  Own  Books, 
^n    Irish    Story-Tolling. 

The  Glories,  the  Sorrows,  and  the  Hopes  of  Ireland. 
A     Ramble     'Round     Ireland,     Illustrated     with     100     Bcaatifnl 
Colored    Views. 

The  Irish  Question. 
Fairy  and  Folk-lore. 
Irish   Wit   and   Humor. 

The     Irish     Q'ipstion. 
Fairy     and     Folk-lore. 
Irsh    Wit    and    lliimor. 

SFT'MAS    MacMAXry.    the    Irish    poet.    Is    a    brllHant    repre- 
«pnrnrlve     of     a     poetic     race.       I'oetry     and     mysticism,     wit, 
humor  and    patlios,    are   everywhere    present    In    liis    work.     And 
andienf-ei    nre    lipid    spfMbontul    at    the    will    of    this    prince    of 
Btory- tellers. — H  n't  ton     Transcript. 

As  child  and  youth,  he  sat  at  the  feet  of  the  Shanachlea 
by  fhe  turf  fires  and  lived  the  life  of  his  own  people,  until, 
Baturafed  with  the  Cellic  spirit,  this  brilliant  spokesman  of 
a  xvoiHlcrful  i)eople  now  comes  to  enthrall  us  with  his  de- 
lightful    intellectual     diversions. — S!nn     Ft  anci/^ro     niiUetin. 

Edmund  Clarence  St'-dman  said :  He  is  the  poet  story-teller 
from    ancient    time;    the    rhansodlst  :    the    Irish    Ilomer. 

Jud^e  Ben  Lindsey:  Never  in  my  experience  have  I  heard 
a     moi-e     wonderful     stoiy-tellinp:. 

Dr.  Washingten  Gladden :  Don's  miss  the  delight  of  hear- 
ln£r     Peumas     MacManus  ' 

William  Allen  White,  of  Kansas:  He  has  a  marvellous  gift 
of   ptoiv-tellitie   and    power    of   holdlns    his    audience. 

National  Geor^apMcal  Snri-tv;  President  Henry  Gannett: 
Rarely  has  a  lecturer  captured  our  audience  as  completely 
as    did    SpiiTrn'!    MncManus. 

Library  Commissron  of  Portland,  Ore.:  His  twelve  lect'ires 
and  ''tnry  tellings  heie.  were  the  very  happiest  thitur  that 
happened  to  u"?  in  manv  a  lo^e  dav.  On  the  last  nicrht,  the 
crowd  llled  all  seats,  lined  the  wails,  sat  on  the  platform, 
pafked  the  enfance — and  no  one  moved  duiing  the  two  hours. 
There's    ma  sic    for    von  » 

TTniversitv  of  Wisrepsin :  He  charmed  the  University  Club 
diners  with  a  talk  utterlv  unlike  any  other  literary  treat  that 
thev    have    ever    had.-  The    Demorrat. 

ITni''-«»r8itv    of    ^'i«souri:       Tt    w^s    a     great    niTht    for    Ireland— 
«nd    the    rnlver«!|ty    of    ^TI<«s^nrl  — 77ir    TTernJ'f. 
Un'vers'ty     of    '^'ic'^it^an:      T^e     surprising     novelty     and     nninue- 
ness    of    his    discourse,     delighted    hig    three    thousand    eager 
auditors.— T/ic    Times^etcs. 


Columbia  University:  In  his  series  of  six  lecture-recitals 
the  t>i>eil  of  bis  poetry,  the  euchuuimeut  ol'  liis  pruije,  lii£ 
quaiut  aiid  beuutilni  talcs,  lield  liis  large  audieuces  ciiaiuied.— 
The    LoluinOUi    Htjectator. 

Dean  Briess  of  Harvard:  Everyone  enjoyed  Seumas  Mac- 
Mauus'    reading    exceedingly. 

University  of  Texas:  No  lectures  at  the  University  in 
reetint  years  liav<>  given  luuie  geueial  siitislacliou  Lbau  those 
of    Seumas    MacMauus.— C.    S.    I'otts,    M.A. 

Univresity  of  Kansas:  It  v/as  a  very  unusual  and  effective 
lerture.— <  hancelloi-    Strong. 

Uniier.Hiii  o/  iiHliana:  If  I  were  myself  a  poet.  I  should  try 
to  find  words  which  would  tell  fittingly  how  Senmas  Mac- 
Mauus' wiitiug  and  his  speuklug  express  the  tiuetit  spirit 
of    Ireland.— Dr.    Liryau. 

The  Comparative  literature  Society  of  N.  Y. :  He  moved 
our  diflicuit  audience  to  frequent  sudden  laughter,  or  nobly 
touched  them  to  hileuce  by  the  simple  dignity  and  humaa 
feeling     of     bis     theme.— Dr.     jMerle     »St.     Croix     Wright 

Buffalo,  N.  Y. — Althuugh  so  ill  that  he  had  to  be  carried 
on  ihe  stage  of  Slien  s  TbejUre  in  a  cliair.  Seumas  .Mac- 
Manub  last  night  delivered  the  must  impressive  address  oq 
Ireland  ever  heard  by  the  people  of  IJulTalo.— 37te  Bujfulo 
Eveninff   News. 

Normal  School  Edin';oro,  Pa;;;-He  held  the  children  spell- 
bound, and  the  nduits  were  as'  the  children.  lie  is  an  edu- 
cariotial     inspiration  !  I — Frank    E.     Caker.    I'resldent. 

Brooklyn  Institute  of  Arts  and  Sciences:  On  the  occasion 
of  each  of  his  pieceding  lectures  hundreds  had  to  be  turned 
away  tor  lack  of  accoiuniodfition — but  last  night  the  numbers 
turned  away  at  least  equalled  what  found  seating  accom- 
modation.—  '/'he    liro'ihlyn    lun/le. 

Notre  Dame  University,  Ind. — The  students  of  this  year  can 
never  forget  the  great  advantage  they  enjoyed  In  hearing 
Senmas  MacManus's  course  of  twelve  lectures.  The  'ime  he 
Spent  with  us  was  a  period  memorable  and  full  ot  inspira- 
tion.—Rev.     John     ravanaugh.     CS.C.     President. 

University  of  Nevada:  Seumaa  MacManus'  lecture  was  a 
frem — both  In  matter  and  the  manner  of  delivery  For  two 
hours  he  held  an  andlenre  of  sttidents  literally  entranced  by 
his    stories.- Presideni    J.    K.    Stubbs. 

Smith  Collegre:  He  captured  us  from  the  first  words,  and 
we  I'stened  breathlessly  as  children  6o.—S^mith  College 
Monthlv. 

Teachers'  Association  of  Essex  Co.,  Mass.:  Seumas  Mae- 
Manns'  stories  delluhted  and  refreshed  two  thousand  tired 
teachers  at  our  annual  meeting  In  Tremont  Temple,  Boston.— 
Charles    V..    Towne.    President. 

Alama'-a  Polytechnic  Institute:  The  beautiful  views,  the 
wit.  the  eloquence,  and  the  literary  charm  of  the  lecturer, 
made  for  us  an  evening  of  notable  delight  and  profit.  It 
was  one  of  the  plea snn test  evenings  I  ever  enjoyed. — Dr. 
Charles    O.    Thach.    President. 

Baylor  CoUepe.  Teras. — No  one  has  ever  been  before  this 
gtndenf  body  who  gave  sufh  general  satisfactlou  as  Seumafi 
MacManus.— Dr.    J.    C.    Hardy. 


Ballads  of  a  Country  Boy 

The  Leader  (San  Francisco)  says:  A  book  to  cherish,  to 
Bmile  over,  and  weep  over  by  turns,  is  Ballads  of  a  Country 
Boy."  .  .  .  We  meet  here  all  the  characteristics  that  have 
made  of  Ireland  a  great  and  holy  nation.  .  .  .  Seumas  Mac- 
Maaus  shares  with  Ethna  Carbery  her  ma^lficent  sensuouEh 
ness  of  imagery,  and  haunting  melody  of  versification.  The 
poems  of  both  stand  for  what  is  most  dlsrtinctly  national, 
and,  in  a  literary  way,  most  excelling,  in  recent  Irish  verse. 

New  Ireland  Review:  It  would  be  hard  to  find  a  new  vol- 
ume of  popular  poetry  which  excites  one's  interest  from  be- 
ginning to  end  to  the  same  degree  as  the  simple  ballads  of 
Seumas  MacManus.  Here  we  have  the  joyful,  the  sorrowful, 
the   beautiful,    and   everywhere   the   interesting. 

Fiona  MacLeod:  What  pleasure  it  gave  me,  with  its  lilt  fresh 
from  the  hillsides  of  Donegal,  and  its  blithe  spirit,  brave  and 
glad,  alike  in  storm  and  shine !  I  have  looked  into  it  again 
and  again  since  first  I  read  It,  and  never  without  pleasure, 
or  the  sudden  sense  of  wind  and  air,  and  the  ringing  heart. 

The     Pilot     (Boston) :       The     melody     of     song-birds,     the     per- 
fume of   Irish   flowers,   the  soft   light  of  Irish  skies,  and  the 
pare  passion  and  haunting  melancholy  of  the  Celtic  heart  are 
in  these  Ballads. 

Price    (Including  postage)    $1.10, 


Other  MacManus  Books 

The  Woman  of  Seven  Sorrows.     A  metrical  play.     Post  free  $1. 

Considei'ed  either  in  conception  or  in  execution,  we  are  struck 
with    its    towering   excellence.— Tfte    Leader    (San   Francisco). 

The  Hard-Hearted  Man.  (Anti  Emigration  Play.)  In  Eng- 
lish, and  in  Irish.  $1.00.  "A  powerful  piece  of  work.  Our 
interest   never  flags   from   start  to   finish.''— United  Irishman. 

Doctor  Kilgannon:  A  volume  of  Rollicking  Tales.  Price 
$1.10 

This  book  has  al  the  qualities  that  endeared  the  author's 
earlier  works  to  the  public.  The  rich  Donegal  humour  is  here, 
and  the  effervescing  wit  which  Seumas  MacManus  possesses  In 
unusual  degree.  "Doctor  Kilgannon"  falls  little  short  of  "A 
Lad  of  the  O'Friels"  in  its  richness  of  colouring  and  literary 
oharmi.— Tfte    Overland    Monthly. 

Donegal   Fairy   Stories.      Price   $1.40. 

In    Chimney    Corners— Folk-lore    tales.      Price    $l.ffi. 

The   Leadin'   Road   to   Donegal.     $1.65. 

THE   IRISH   PUBLISHING   CO. 
P.  O.  Box  1313,  New  York 


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